One, Two, Three, Don't Walk Away From Me
by whitelilies
Summary: Miscommunication is a universal problem. Because we don't understand one another, we get lost with our judgements, such is the case of Sakuno & Niou. The situation complicates when a notorious criminal escapes jail to seek revenge against Fuji and Niou and poor Sakuno becomes involved in ways she never thought possible.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.

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><p>The sirens disturbed the silence of the night ten minutes too late.<p>

Before jumping off the tree branch, a young woman looked over her shoulder. Behind her, the bleak prison that kept her isolated stood proudly. She was the third escapee since it was built. Smirking at her accomplishment, the woman jumped and flipped, landing perfectly on her feet.

But the impact had her knees trembling. She scowled.

The results of five years of neglecting training, this was.

Her green eyes surveyed the grounds, seeking her ride. As silent as possible, a red sports car crept out of its hiding place from behind thick bushes next to the prison. With a smile, the convict ran towards it as quickly as possible.

"Yamamoto-sama!"

Her faithful dog cried, pleased to see her face to face after five years. She slapped him and instructed him to drive.

"You know not to say my name where it isn't safe."

"I-I'm sorry, mistress..."

"Drive."

Yamamoto hated wasting her words on the dogs that were beneath her. She was the daughter of the most powerful drug lord in Tokyo and almost no one matched her in status. Soon she would inherit his business and rule Tokyo. No one would be able to touch her.

But filthy things kept getting in her way of her goal. That's why they had to die.

She would continue her life where she left off five years ago.

Annoyingly enough, there was one task that needed completion. She needed those two to be silenced forever. She would not allow them to repeat what they did to her five years ago.

* * *

><p>Sometimes Fuji pondered on where the motivation to protect this firm came from.<p>

There wasn't a strong bond between himself and the President nor did he care too much for his clients, people who trusted him to attain justice. Only very few people were allowed into his heart. If not bonds or relationships, then it must have been the challenges this company offered.

This particular law firm had a note worthy victory rate of the cases taken in. 80% of the cases the lawyers decided to fight resulted in triumph. That was good. The best part of these victories was that 53% of them were attributed to him and Niou Masaharu. They were the best in the city.

But such accomplishment equalled to hate from the accused.

Fuji chuckled quietly – you win some, you lose some.

Ah, maybe that was why he protected this firm's reputation. He was part of this firm and any negativity towards it ruined his reputation as well. It made sense. However, he was always curious as to why Niou Masaharu put in a hundred and ten percent in his work.

Even if it was the Masaharu firm, Niou didn't consider this establishment a significant part of his life. He treated it as if it was any other company. Maybe Niou was the type of individual who would always put extra effort into anything he did?

Maybe time would tell. Fuji also hoped time would help his current case.

Today, and for the past five days, he had been hired by some politician who wanted a divorce from his disloyal wife. The wife denied this infidelity, making everything much more complicated than it needed to be.

But if it wasn't complicated then he wouldn't have a job, right?

"Fuji-senpai, these are for you."

Fuji stopped typing on his laptop and returned his attention to the person standing in front of his desk. He smiled at his assistant, who just placed a folder labelled 'Yamamoto' and a bento on the corner of his desk.

"An officer just dropped it off."

"Ah, thank you, Sakuno-chan."

She smiled, nodded and turned to leave the office. He observed another bento in her hand and that she hesitated for a second. His blue eyes watched as she sighed and walked over to the other desk in the spacious room.

Fuji chuckled quietly again.

His career trained him to completely read an individual – from body language to spoken. The undertones of this job were to break these individuals. The conclusion he reached about Ryuzaki Sakuno was that she was a person who was easily readable and easily breakable. Her weak points and strengths were obvious to him. The blame was to be put on Tezuka. Fuji was close to Tezuka, who was close to their tennis coach who was the grandmother of his current assistant.

She had a shy demeanour, hiding her inner strength; a pushover who told off others when angered. Her cooking was excellent and her creativity was one to envy. The one thing that intrigued Fuji the most about her was her kindness towards others.

Sakuno didn't seek revenge on those who had done her wrong, no. The only reason she would ever reprimand another is if that person had wronged someone she cared about.

There weren't that many people who thought much of her, because of her shyness, and there were less that disliked her. But in this high profile department, there was one individual who greatly disliked her.

His name was Niou Masaharu.

Despite being friends with her, Fuji didn't feel bad for Sakuno. Instead he found it fascinating how two people with contrasting personalities interacted. The only thing is that the two never mingled, just bowed or nodded when the other was around. It spoiled Fuji's fun.

Well, Sakuno had another two months with them until she returned to university as a full time student. Perhaps something interesting would happen between the two during her break.

* * *

><p>It took Niou ten seconds to walk from the elevator to his office.<p>

To this day, it surprised him how many people were able to get a somewhat decent conversation out of him during that time. Half of the women in the office tried to get his attention and the men always gave him casual invitations for drinks.

He wasn't particularly fond of these people because of their true nature. They were slobs who shouldn't have been considered for this top notch department. They belonged to the lower levels of the building. The ones that didn't make any attempt to speak with him were the motivated workers. These people were the ones that took their job seriously and he had respect for.

"That's great! Do you know when she's going to deliver?"

"I think next week."

Ignoring the woman who was attempting to converse with him, Niou's emerald eyes skimmed the office until resting on a certain women. Sitting about two meters away his and Fuji's office and speaking with another, was Ryuzaki Sakuno.

She was smiling and a tint of pink coloured her cheeks. Her hair was tied in a bun with a couple of strands framing her face. Yeah, she was pretty but that was all she had going for her.

Ryuzaki, in his opinion, was a bothersome girl. He hated how she needed someone to constantly defend her. The first interaction they ever had was not on good terms. She was useful at one point in time but not anymore. Unfortunately for him, he had to continue seeing her on a regular basis since she was Fuji's assistant. How that man put up with her was beyond him.

Then again, a lot of things Fuji did were beyond comprehension...and not in a good way either. Niou was a little relieved he had Fuji as an ally rather than an opponent. True, Fuji was a good challenge – he learned this in middle school - but it was better this way since his dad's company profited from both their skills.

How many law firms can say that they had a success rate of 80%?

Niou didn't realize he was still smirking when he entered his shared office.

"Good morning, Niou. Why are we so happy today?"

His eyes fell on Fuji but he didn't answer. There were times when it was best not to answer Fuji. That guy would look too deep into it, just like a woman would. As he walked towards his desk, Fuji continued the one-sided chat.

"You're ignoring Sakuno-chan again." He sighed softly and turned look through the doorway to the woman who righted herself after bowing. He nodded at her, completely forgetting their daily routine.

"She's not so bad."

Again, Niou chose not to reply.

Four hours of silence ensued as both lawyers immersed themselves in their work. Occasionally some conversation was exchanged but nothing that lasted more than five minutes.

At twelve o'clock sharp, Sakuno warned Fuji about a visit from the president. When he stormed into the room, Fuji stood and bowed.

"Yo." Niou said in a casual manner. He didn't see the need to treat his dad as a high and mighty person.

"Good morning, sir. How can we help you?" Fuji asked, attempting to draw out his boss's good side.

The president was not a pleasant person to his allies or to his enemies. His oblong shaped face was always some tint of red due to his constant anger and at the moment, his face was coloured crimson.

Niou smirked at his father and continued his email to his best friend, Yagyuu.

"Tell me, do you remember the Yamamoto case?"

Niou raised an eyebrow, his attention caught. That was the case both he and Fuji worked on together five years ago and it was that case which created a successful career path for them. He walked over towards Fuji's desk, leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

"It's hard to forget that one." Fuji replied with his trademark smile.

Yamamoto was a psychotic woman who proved to be quite the challenge for them. She killed twenty people and unfortunately, was the daughter of a famous drug lord. She had attained many connections due to her father's line of work. That meant witnesses and evidence disappeared without a trace.

It took them almost a year to bring her down but they convicted her with grace in the end. She was sentenced to one hundred and fifteen years in prison. It was an impossible feat to accomplish considering the penal system usually put murderers away for nine years at the most.

Other lawyers suggested condensing all her offences into one big case. Niou and Fuji did the opposite. They attained what could be considered justice for every murder she committed.

"She escaped last night and I'm sure you both know who'll be her first victims."

Fuji didn't say anything but conserved his smile.

"And what are you doing about it, _president_?"

Niou asked in a mocking manner.

Satori looked at his son with distain, not liking that Niou kept his hair shaggy and long instead of short like Fuji's. He couldn't do anything about it since Niou never listened to him. His obedience was with his mother. In addition, Niou made a tremendous contribution to the firm.

Satori learned a long time ago that a discontent Niou was a dangerous Niou.

"I've hired extra security and the police are keeping watch over the area. Be careful."

Niou knew there was so much more going through his father's mind as there were many thoughts in his mind.

He despised Yamamoto with every inch of his soul. Because of that psychotic woman, three attempts were made on his life while she was on trial. Out of the three attempts, two were lethal and he had been hospitalized.

She had even managed to threaten his siblings. Thankfully his sister had married and left the country by the time the trial commenced. His brother, on the other hand, was not so lucky. It took him a year to recover from his injuries.

Fuji's assistant was a sweetheart compared to Yamamoto. And that was really saying something.

After the president left, Fuji sighed. "Saa, a year of dedicated work wasted."

"You don't seem surprised."

"Neither do you, Niou. We knew this would happen someday. She was _his_ daughter after all."

"...She's not going to do everything in a flashy manner." That was why it was intricate to catch her. She never made a big scene before she struck; her movements were subtle.

"And that means working from the inside." Fuji frowned and Niou understood why.

The next few days were going to be difficult. Everyone in this department was hired by Fuji so naturally, he would be more trusting towards them than Niou would. It was a matter of pride.

Niou glanced at the workers through the glass wall that separated them. He knew people all too well. Money and threats went a long way. In a heartbeat, company secrets would be lost; secret accesses, codes, and weaknesses of the building could be revealed.

But who would they target...

His wondering eyes rested on Fuji's assistant. She was the most obvious choice, considering she was the one who worked directly with him. Because she had a connection to Fuji, she had a connection to Niou. He was sure Fuji decided to tell her little things about him, just to annoy him. If any of Yamamoto's crew got a hold of any sort of information, they could work wonders.

"Her loyalty is absolute, Niou." Fuji insisted after following his gaze.

"I do not doubt her fidelity. She can be used without knowing it." Or worse.

"She doesn't talk to strangers and she's walked to her car by either me or the security guard. Also, Sakuno-chan lives with her grandmother and that woman will not allow any kind of kidnapping on Ryuzaki property, trust me."

Niou could feel his temper raise a notch. This was why keeping a distance from others was necessary. Caring for others made you blind and weak.

"~Puri!"

He walked over to his own desk, knowing he was right.

Trusting Fuji was out of the question. He was annoyed that he was going to have to keep tabs on the woman. He was hoping Fuji would agree with his theory and volunteer to take responsibility of Ryuzaki.

His frustration grew when he realized he was eating from the bento the assistant made for him. He was planning on returning it to her and asking that she didn't do this anymore. He was content with eating out every day.

Fuji laughing didn't make matters any better.

* * *

><p>Sakuno felt a chill run down her spine. She shivered and glanced around the office, wondering who was giving her the evil eye.<p>

After finding everyone occupied with their work, she assumed it was Niou.

She wasn't sure what it was she did recently to harm him. She barely even spoke with him! He couldn't have been holding a grudge from that time in high school, when he sprained his ankle due to her accidently pushing him down the stairs. Niou wasn't able to play properly for three months. It was a terrible accident and she offered to do his chores for him.

Oh, that was probably the reason why she made him lunch every day. The guilt must still be there. Some day she wished to confront him but that would be ridiculous. Sakuno didn't need to be a genius to know Niou would rip her apart and have her cry in five minutes flat.

He was a lawyer, after all, a frightening one.

She then chuckled at the absurdity of her wish. Never in her life would she accumulate such courage to do that.

"...zaki-san!"

Sakuno startled when she heard her friend yell in her ear. Turning around, she found Akira-san leaning backwards from her desk and pointing at her phone.

"It's been ringing for awhile."

She gasped and returned her attention to work.

"Ryuzaki Sakuno speaking, how may I assist you?"

"Ah, Ryzaki-san."

"...Mako-san?" She knitted her eyebrows, confused as to why the receptionist would be calling her.

"Um, Ryuzaki-san, would you like to go out to dinner with me?"

...This was weird. But since Mako asked so politely, Sakuno couldn't refuse her. After two minutes, both agreed to meet at the elevator in ten minutes.

"What did she want?" Akira asked, not taking her eyes off of her computer.

"She wanted to have dinner with me."

"I'd have never guessed she swung that way. It would make sense as to why that woman isn't married yet." Sakuno grinned uneasily at Akira's jeering comment. It wasn't a secret that Mako and Akira didn't get along.

She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to escape the semi-tense atmosphere Akira had created. Instead, she listened to the clicking sounds of the keyboards, the ringing of telephones and the popping of the coffee maker. She was becoming very attached to this place and was not looking forward to the day she left.

After opening her eyes, Sakuno glanced around and rested her brown irises on Niou and Fuji's office.

Now that she thought about it...something was off. It was nearing six o'clock – she decided to leave later than usual and finish off some paperwork for Fuji – and not once did either Niou or Fuji leave their office. At around twelve thirty, Niou would leave for his lunch break or Fuji would go around the department, talking with everyone.

It wasn't the first time they both didn't do as expected but it was the first time when _both_ of them didn't follow their usual routine. Sometimes Fuji would have so much work that he didn't bother to leave his desk and Niou would leave or Niou would have too much work and Fuji would come out to converse with everyone.

It was strange and Sakuno assumed the break in routine had to do with the president's visit. But what could he have said that would've had so much effect? All the unpleasant man usually did was slate the department.

But this wasn't any of her business, was it?

Sakuno shook her head and started to pack up, intent on meeting the receptionist on time. After waving goodbye to Akira, she quickly walked towards the elevator. Halfway there, she managed to bump into Niou. Needless to say, Sakuno was quite surprised.

She looked over her shoulder at his office then back at him. Her lips were moving but no sound came out. Upon realizing that she just embarrassed herself in front of the one person she desired respect from, her cheeks reddened.

As she bowed, hoping to hide her blush and somewhat redeem herself, Niou snickered. She blushed harder. She couldn't look him in the eye as she rose and walked past him.

His lingering gaze on her went unnoticed by anyone.

* * *

><p>The meeting with Mako was short and awkward, making her forgot about the incident. The awkwardness distinctly rose during their walk and even more at dinner. But after a few drinks and a filling dinner, the discomfort between them all but disintegrated.<p>

Soon Sakuno was talking about her cousin's wife who was about to give birth to a premature baby and Mako was telling Sakuno about her kids and the amount of debt she was in. Then, Sakuno felt like discussing her problem with Niou and she did.

"And that's the gist of it, Mako-san. I just don't know how to handle him."

Mako, who was a little red in the face, thought for awhile before replying. "Why not ignore the jerk? What I can tell you from my experience with men is that they always expect you to follow them. They want a whole herd of women following."

Sakuno, who was also a little red, frowned. "Mhmm...I don't think Niou-san is that kind of person, Mako-san. He just doesn't seem very fond of me."

"Even after you make him lunch?"

"Even then."

Mako sighed. "The best way to handle him is to ignore him. The way I see it, Niou-san is always receiving some degree of attention from anyone in the department. He's good looking and has such cool attitude..."

Mako left off, hosting a smile as though she was indulging in a familiar fantasy. Sakuno softly coughed, bringing Mako's attention back to the current situation.

"If you ignore him, he'll just _have_ to revaluate you!"

Since Sakuno wasn't exactly in the right state of mind, she considered Mako's suggestion illogically and agreed.

She didn't consider that her ignoring Niou could be taken in the wrong way nor did she anticipate the danger that would go hand in hand with ignoring Niou. From time to time, Sakuno made bad decisions.

It was a good thing that she had two lawyers watching over her, whether they wanted to or not.

* * *

><p><strong>Lily: <strong>Phew, this has been on my hard drive for over a year now! This is a new genre for to me write and always, constructive criticism is always welcome :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.

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><p>One step, two steps, three steps, four. Stop and repeat.<p>

It was too bad Sakuno didn't notice her pattern of walking. If she did then perhaps she would stop and put an end to all the stares directed her way from every person she passed. But this pattern couldn't be helped - she was apprehensive after all.

The night with Mako was long and this morning, she couldn't recall the events and conversation which occurred near the end of the night. There was a dull but sharp pain at the back of her head, which she recognized as a semi-hangover. A lot of money was spent on alcohol last night, way too much.

Her grandmother wasn't very amused a fairly drunk Sakuno stumbled through the door. Sakuno listened to her grandmother's complaints about her this morning and she found it odd Ryuzaki Sumire was lecturing on drinking when she was rather gone herself. It was that day of the week where all the middle school tennis coach's came together and went for a few drinks.

Unfortunately, both the Ryuzaki members were still feeling some effects of the alcohol, such as slurred speech at times and lack of balance – more so for Sakuno, considering she was a rather unbalanced person throughout her life. Now, she was debating whether or not to go to work but she had never missed a day. There was also the amount of work that needed to be completed by the end of her shift and if she missed a day, then the workload would double. Was that something she really wanted to put herself through?

She made her decision when suddenly she tripped over her own feet and landed on the sturdy back of a stranger. The man, who was clearly not happy with a random falling against his back, turned and glared at her although it went unnoticed as she was trying to save whatever dignity she had left.

"I-I'm so sorry!" She bowed and stayed that way for a minute before the man sighed.

"It's fine. Be more aware of your surroundings." Sakuno blinked and glanced upwards, recognizing the man's voice.

"Tezuka-san?"

Tezuka, who was about to walk away, paused and looked over his shoulder. His eyes scrutinised the petite woman and finally recognized her as the granddaughter of his middle school tennis coach and as an underclassman in both middle school and high school. Then there were the times he would randomly see her when he visited the old coach.

"Ryuzaki."

Tezuka watched with slight confusion as her cheeks reddened. Wouldn't she be more embarrassed at falling against his back instead of when he called her name?

"Please excuse me!" She bowed and stayed bent halfway until he sighed and said it was alright. Since he was curious, he asked how she managed to do what she did. Ryuzaki answered with stumbles and mumbles. Tezuka raised an eyebrow – never did the thought of the granddaughter drinking alcoholic beverages cross his mind nor did he expect her to _actually_ tell him what occurred last evening.

The same thoughts ran thought the young woman's mind as well. Although there was a peculiar feeling running through her mind, it felt so natural to tell her old senpai about everything. There was an aura around him which made her feel safe. Eventually she finished her monologue and raised her eyes toward his.

Whether or not he was bored, she could not tell. As per usual, Tezuka's usual stoic manner had not changed from the last time she had seen him.

He didn't say a word…and that felt awkward. It encouraged more conversation and Sakuno went on and on and on. Before she knew it, they were both standing in front of the double doors which led to the reception her workplace. How…did they get here?

Sakuno gawked at the doors for a long while before looking at her companion. He was looking at her from the corner of his eyes in a strange manner. Oh no, he thought she was weirder than the usual!

"I will have to leave you here, Ryuzaki." He bowed and entered the doors.

"…I-I work here too…" She called out weakly. Oh how embarrassing…

* * *

><p>"Niou-san, the only people who are aware that I have an assistant are the people in this department and confidentiality is mandatory. Not even my siblings know about her."<p>

"The point is people know. It won't be hard to gain access of that information and all it will take is some chloroform and a buff individual to bring us down. Puri~"

Niou thought about discussing Ryuzaki once again with Fuji. He really did not want to waste his time on her but Fuji's defence for her was not allowing any room for argument. Hostage situations were never good and always resulted in both sides losing something. Niou knew Fuji wouldn't want to risk the woman in any way. This long argument proved Fuji's false persona of not caring for others.

It was one of his weaknesses, whether he did this consciously or not. That was why truly keeping people at a distance would benefit everyone.

Fuji was beginning to feel annoyed. The brown haired man looked to the side and found Sakuno was talking on the phone and writing something on the pad in front of her.

"I don't see the need to monitor her. She won't pose a threat to us, believe me."

Niou didn't say anything, just walked over to where his coat was hung. He didn't argue anymore; it was pointless. It wouldn't take much for her to break, that was a fact. Someone just needed to put a daunting man in front of her and boom, secret accesses to the building were revealed. He couldn't trust Fuji to assist him with the task at hand.

"I'm taking a lunch break."

"Hm? But it seems as though Sakuno-chan has already made you lunch." Fuji said, returning to his laptop, documents and smile.

"I don't remember asking her to make me one."

Niou, now irritated even more, eyed the bento. Why did she keep doing that? By making him a bento, he _didn't_ _want, _he was either forced to eat it or give it back to her. He didn't believe in wasting food and he loathed that face she made whenever he returned the lunchbox.

Then he would feel the eyes of her friends on his back. It was a bothersome feeling that nagged at him throughout the day. Just once he would like to hear her say something to him whether it was rude or not but that would be asking too much, wasn't it?

He attempted to ignore Fuji's chuckles as he grabbed the lunchbox and swaggered out of the room.

* * *

><p>"Did you already buy a present for your nephew?" Akira asked, tossing a file away in frustration. The amount of pay she was given did not do justice to the amount of work she did.<p>

"Not yet, I was thinking I'll get something before I visit Yuri in the hospital." Sakuno replied as she transferred a call to her boss. The receptionist, Mako, hurried by them, dropping a folder. Before she could call to the woman, she was distracted by another call.

"Hello, Attorney's Office, Ryuzaki speaking."

"S-Sakuno?"

"…Yuri-chan?"

Sakuno didn't hide the surprise in her voice, which caught the attention of her friend. It wasn't often that her cousin's wife called.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm well, how are you?"

"I'm doing okay. I was just wondering if you're coming tomorrow to visit the b-baby."

Was it her imagination or did Yuri sounded a little nervous?

"I was thinking of coming the day after tomorrow...are you alright?"

"Yes, perfectly okay. Would it be okay for you to come tomorrow?"

"...Yes, I can do that. I'll see you tomorrow."

The line disconnected and Sakuno couldn't help but frown at the peculiar conversation. Usually Yuri was full of life, not apprehension. Maybe she was anxious about that baby, who was born a month too early. If that was her child, Sakuno was sure she wouldn't have been able to think of anything else but the child.

"Everything okay?"

Sakuno turned to her friend and caught someone staring at her from the corner of her eyes. She was startled when she noticed Niou gazing at her. His green eyes were hard, as if scrutinizing her. It made her very uncomfortable, causing her to blush.

As he walked towards the elevator, he kept his eyes on her the entire time. When he disappeared behind the doors, Sakuno realized something must have gone wrong. Maybe it had to do with the bento she made. She'd have to ask Fuji about it.

As soon as she thought of her boss, a call came from him. He wanted documents that were filed away five years ago titled 'Yamamoto – profile #1'. Exactly seven minutes later, after placing the other folder on her desk, she found them in an old filing cabinet and delivered them to him.

"Thank you."

Sakuno blinked; there was a minor change in his tone from this morning. There was a sense of urgency in it.

"Ano, Fuji-senpai, is something wrong?"

Fuji looked up at her with a smile. "Not at all, Sakuno. Thanks again." She frowned and lingered for about two seconds before leaving the office.

"Be careful."

She looked over her shoulder and sighed when she found him absorbed in his work. Something was wrong with her. First she embarrassed herself with Tezuka, overanalyzed the situation with Yuri, then she was glared at by Niou and now she was hearing voices.

What a day.

* * *

><p>It wasn't until after four o'clock that Fuji pinpointed three places Yamamoto would be hiding. The first was a night club in Osaka owned by her uncle, the second was at a small shop located in the red light district and the third was in the middle of the area where all of her murders took place.<p>

Although dangerous to be tracking her, Fuji found this somewhat exhilarating. It was different from his other tedious cases and gave him an elating feeling like the one he felt five years ago. He had to thank Yamamoto for distracting him from that divorce case. It was beginning to get on his nerves.

"Yo."

Fuji nodded at Niou, who had gone to talk with Tezuka, the head of the police squad responsible for the company's safety.

"She's not at the night club or the shop."

Fuji didn't ask how Niou knew the spots he had highlighted, only nodded. That meant she was in the shop constantly watched by the police. The squad would have a difficult time with detaining her – those criminals were much too intelligent to leave any evidence behind.

Silence ensued.

Niou glanced over at Fuji and thought he saw a faint smile pass through his features. It wasn't just any smile but one that indicated that he was having fun. It kind of pissed Niou off - Fuji wasn't the one who was almost killed three different times during this case.

Another reason why he didn't like Yamamoto out of jail was because it meant they had to become temporary cops. They had to do the investigating because the squad in Tokyo was a little brain dead, in their opinion, even if it was led by Tezuka.

"Have you been watching over everyone?" Niou asked. He wanted to be out of this mess as soon as possible because he did not want to have to look over his shoulders every two seconds.

"I asked the president to take care of that."

Niou rolled his eyes when he was sure Fuji couldn't see.

"And?"

"Everything seems normal. Nothing unordinary."

The ringing of the phone caught of their attention. Usually Sakuno would warn Fuji about calls and then he realized it was now post office hours.

"Fuji speaking."

"Fuji-san, my name is Shoutarou. I'm an officer in squad sixteen."

"Yes, how can I help you?"

"I left two folders with the receptionist this morning for you and unfortunately I need them back."

Fuji pointed at the folder at the edge of his desk and Niou grabbed them for him, passing it over.

"Two folders?" Both men frowned. "I only have one."

* * *

><p>Sakuno was bored.<p>

She blamed it on her excitement. After ten years of the Ryuzaki family being without babies, her cousin finally had a baby boy. She hoped the footy dog pyjamas were okay for a present. It was hard to pick one out for the little tyke.

A sigh later, the woman leaned back into the bus seat. Her eyes were closing and she welcomed sleep. She had another half an hour to go until she reached the Kanagawa Prefecture. Too bad her cell phone had to wreck her moments of peace.

"Hello?"

"Sakuno-chan."

"Heh? Fuji-senpai?"

"Yes. Sakuno-chan, do you remember the receptionist giving you two folders yesterday morning?"

"Two? I'm pretty sure she only gave me one...what was the other one labelled as?"

"Yamamoto – profile #2."

That sounded really familiar. Sakuno closed her eyes and thought about the events that happened the previous day.

"Ah!" She exclaimed, catching the attention of the few on the bus. She blushed and stammered an apology. "Give me a second, senpai."

With the cell phone nestled between her ear and shoulder, she opened her bag and leafed through the numerous folders she had. In the very back sat the one sought for.

"I have it with me, senpai. The receptionist dropped it on the floor on the way to lunch yesterday afternoon and I completely forgot to give it back."

She heard a sigh of relief. "Okay, that's what we thought. Sakuno, listen very carefully. I want you keep those folders as safe as possible. They're very important papers."

"O-ok senpai, I'll keep them with me."

"Niou-kun will be coming to get them. He left about forty-five minutes ago so he's most likely near the hospital."

"Oh."

"Something wrong?"

"Oh no, no, it's just that he might have to wait awhile. I had to stop to get a gift for my nephew."

"...Okay, that's fine. He'll still meet you at the hospital."

Fuji and Sakuno exchanged goodbyes and hung up. There was one thing which bothered Sakuno: how were they so sure that she had the folder and how did they know where she was going? Niou had already been sent to meet her before Fuji had even called.

She never mentioned to Fuji that her cousins were located in the Kanagawa Prefecture nor did she mention Yuri was admitted to Fujitsu Healthcare…

Sometimes lawyers, no wait, sometimes Niou and Fuji were very scary people – their information network was much too vast. They knew more than they should when they just looked at a person. Now she was curious as to what their thoughts were about her.

She was sure Niou didn't like her very much and she didn't have much of a problem with that. They didn't interact much and the only reason that she made him a bento was because Fuji had mentioned that Niou lived alone and despised cooking. He also let it accidentally slip that Niou always ate out unless he was visiting a friend.

Sakuno didn't think that was very healthy and felt sorry for him…and still felt terrible about that incident during their high school years. What she didn't understand was how he managed to stay in perfect physical condition despite eating out every meal. She ruled out him working out at a gym because he would barely have time for that.

The three of them always arrive at the office at eight in the morning then she leaves at four, Fuji leaves at about six then Niou leaves at around eight. He works hard and she would imagine that he would be too exhausted from work to go to a gym...or maybe she was wrong.

Well whatever the case was, Niou was a hard worker with a not-so-great attitude. His clients always put their faith in him and he always delivered something, whether it was a victory or a very good deal. She heard from her co-workers that Niou was an intimidating man when he was in court.

Sakuno respected him greatly but didn't like him. Was that something like that possible?

She was distracted from her thoughts when her phone rang again.

"Hello?"

"Where are you?"

She didn't recognize the impatient voice. "Um, who is this?"

"It's me."

"...Me who?"

"Niou."

"Oh...how did you get my number, Niou-san?" She asked with a frown.

"We both work with the same people."

Oh. He probably got the number from Fuji. She wasn't sure if she liked Niou having her number. He was good looking and all but not the greatest person alive. At times she felt stalker vibes from him.

"Where are you, Niou-san?"

He growled and she pulled the phone away from her ear; that was completely unnecessary.

"At a convenience store, about five minutes away from the hospital."

"Oh...um, I think I'll be another twenty minutes or so. I'm on the last bus."

"...what the hell-"

Sakuno didn't hear the rest of his sentence because her attention was on another person in the train. Sitting two seats in front of her, was a man who looking out the window at the scenery. She was a hundred percent sure that this big guy was walking behind her when she left the company and was inside the same store as her when she was picking out a present.

Come to think of it, they were on the same bus on the way to the second bus stop as well...

"Ano Niou-san..." she lowered a voice to a whisper, "what is it that you and Fuji-senpai want that I have?"

"Names of witnesses to a case from five years back. The. Folder. Is. Very. Important. Don't lose it, you careless girl."

She had never ever heard Niou-san speak in this manner, not that she ever heard him speak, and it was really surprising. Yes, she understood that he was stressed but that is not the tone to converse with someone who makes you lunch every day and never even say a word of thanks.

Suddenly, Sakuno felt very irritated.

"Niou-san, please watch your tone and words."

"What?"

"That is not the way to talk to someone you barely know...And please don't swear! I'll get the folder to you, just be patient! No one asked you to leave the office without talking to me first! Mou, I don't understand why you're making a big fuss about this folder but it can't be that bad!"

She huffed then regretted everything she said. Never before had she spoken to someone in that way and of all the people to speak rudely to, she chose Niou Masaharu, her boss's partner and an individual she slightly feared.

The timing wasn't right either because she had caught the attention of the stalker. When Sakuno looked into his eyes, she felt as though she was never going to be safe again.

* * *

><p>Niou was told off by a woman two years his junior. He was told off by a woman who didn't have the guts to stand up for herself. He was <em>told off<em> by a woman he didn't like.

His ego was bruised and frustration was raised.

The reason why he was so angry was because of Yamamoto. He didn't want to experience another near death experience because this time, he might just go all the way. He feared her ugly and fat henchmen were going to rip his apartment apart again, find him in the bedroom and kill him while he slept.

He liked living, thank you very much.

And now, his life was threatened because of Ryuzaki Sakuno. Well it wasn't all her but he liked to blame her. She represented all that was bad but he had gained a little bit of respect for her.

Alright, maybe he shouldn't have lost it at her. Niou just found it incredibly annoying that he was in Kanagawa, far away from his safe zone. It had been awhile since he last lived in this city and if he was attacked here, then that would just be terrific. This was his home away from home and didn't want anything to taint the peace he attained here.

All this was over a document, a piece of paper that could've been taken from a computer if Yamamoto hired a hacker. He sighed loudly which made the cashier looked at him with curiosity. He almost fingered the guy. Almost.

Being a lawyer who had to be a temporary cop was stressful. He didn't even have a gun to protect himself. And he was always given the 'question the witness' job since Fuji was on better terms with the president. The president had a tendency of visiting their department on a daily basis. Niou couldn't control his mouth around his father.

And he knew that if he pushed the right buttons, he would be fired and not given another chance at another firm.

How annoying life could be.

He grabbed a bottle of Ponta and went to the front to pay for it. Then he made his way back to his car, his beautiful green Lexus. It was the love of his life. Grinning, he unlocked the door and sat in the seat, feeling a bit more relaxed.

As he drank the Ponta, he thought about Yamamoto's plan. Intel had managed to go undercover and find out what she was planning to do next and honestly, Niou thought it was obvious.

She wanted to get to him and Fuji, the duo who had put her away in the first place. Then it was said that she wanted to obliterate all the witnesses who testified against her. But someone would always be a witness to murder; the tricky part was encouraging them to come to court.

It was a never ending cycle. The only thing that could be done was to slow her from getting the witness sheet. Then Intel and the cops would comb the city looking for her while she searched for the document. Niou didn't know what would happen after attaining the document.

That was all up to Sanada, Tezuka's Assistant Chief Officer, and Niou was assured that his old vice-captain wouldn't let him die easily.

He grinned again and pushed his seat backwards, intending to have a little nap. His cell vibrated and he sighed. Taking out of his pocket, he frowned when realizing Sakuno had texted him.

'_Someone's following me...'_

Niou closed his eyes and breathed deeply. If he didn't do this right then she might be taken quickly. It vibrated again and this time, Sakuno sent him a picture.

He punched the seat when he put a name to that ugly face. It was the same guy that broke into his apartment five years ago. The only difference was that he had gotten fatter and uglier. Why would Yamamoto send someone like him to follow the woman? Wouldn't he be too obvious?

'_Act natural and come to the hospital as planned. I'll follow you in and don't be surprised if I show up suddenly.'_

He texted back and hoped with all his might that Ryuzaki Sakuno knew how to act. A minute later, he received a reply.

'_Okay and...I'm sorry for yelling at you.'_

He smirked.

'_It's fine. I was being a dick.' _He frowned, deleted the last sentence and then sent the message.

'_Thank you and good luck =)'_

Niou rolled his eyes. It was an inappropriate time to add smileys to a text message. He breathed deeply again and thought. What could he do to get them both out of there without resorting to a fight?

A minute later, an idea formed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Thank you for the support everyone :) I hope everything is smooth in terms of plot and a big thanks goes to my reviewers~ Constructive criticism is always welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

She was frightened, extremely frightened. Although the stalker didn't seem to be the brightest crayon in the box, he was still someone to fear. When their eyes met after she yelled at Niou over the phone, she quickly nodded her head and smiled.

The stalker was confused for a moment then nodded his head as well. When he turned, she frantically messaged the first person that came to mind: Niou. He took it surprisingly well, as if he was accustomed to these kinds of situations.

Her respect for him grew and dislike shrunk – only a little bit though. She still thought he was a bad person who didn't have a soul.

She breathed deeply quietly. _'Okay Sakuno, put whatever acting skills you have to use!'_

The woman almost cried. She couldn't act to save her life. What would Fuji-senpai do if he was her? Sakuno almost hit herself at the obviousness of it all. All she had to do was put on a smile and keep it on during her journey to the hospital!

No, that wouldn't work. The stalker had heard her lose her temper at Niou so smiling wouldn't seem natural. Maybe she should keep a scowl on...but she hadn't ever scowled for so long before. She was sure it would become permanent.

Because the woman was so troubled, she didn't realize the bus was finally at her stop until the doors almost closed. She rushed out and managed to trip on the few stairs leading towards another bus loop.

Her bag was released from her hand and the zipper unzipped. The few people that were around helped gather her things and gave them back to her. She thanked them and they replied 'It was nothing!' in their friendly and unstressed tones.

How lucky for them to be stress free.

Sakuno hastily shoved the papers into the folders before running towards the bus stop. Her bus was scheduled to arrive five minutes after the second bus stopped at the station. She really didn't want to miss this bus because she knew her last moments would be wasted by waiting for the next one.

Wait, why did she think that? This man wasn't going to kill her; he would only kidnap her and use her as a hostage. Why they would want to use her as a hostage was beyond her but he wouldn't just stalk her to kill her later, right? He had the chance to make a move when they were exiting the train station but he didn't do anything.

_Wait_. Why was he going to kill her? Why would they even take her hostage? Why were her thoughts going there? She was being paranoid and jumping to conclusions. Things were a little out of the ordinary, that's all. The folder she had probably contained confidential data that could land Niou or Fuji into trouble should anyone else see the contents of the file.

He _wasn't_ going to kill her. She grinned nervously then remembered what Niou told her. She had to act natural. She had to put on a neutral expression and hold her head up high.

"Doesn't he look like that guy from the news?"

"The one that helped that psycho chick kill people right?"

Sakuno heard the whispers and followed the direction the two teenagers on her left were looking at. It was the stalker and she gasped when finally recognizing who it was.

About ten years ago, she had an aunt who lived by herself in the countryside. This woman wasn't particularly close to the family but she was a lot of fun to be with. It was six months after her twenty-fifth birthday she was killed by a woman named Yamamoto. There were two men assisting this murderer.

Angling her head, she was able to see the features of the young murderer in this present stalker's face. Her breathing quickened.

The ones who brought Yamamoto to jail were Fuji and Niou...and everything made sense. It made sense why she was followed and why Niou had come all the way from Tokyo just to retrieve a folder with Yamamoto's name on it.

'_Names of witnesses of a case from five years back.'_

Niou's explanation of the contents suddenly crossed through her mind.

Oh God, she really was going to die.

Her heartbeat quickened and her vision became blurry. As Sakuno thought about her life, the good times and bad, the bus came and collected the people. She chose to sit at the very front, in case he attacked her. That way she would be the first person to exit and no one else would get hurt.

Never before had Sakuno felt so hopeless and have a strong urge to depend on someone else. She placed all her hope on Niou and prayed to God. It was a minor slap to the face that she depended on Niou, especially since she took Mako's advice and attempted to ignore him all day. She didn't want to die but she just might because of a piece of paper. That was the saddest part of it all.

From what she knew about Yamamoto's group, they were lethal and intelligent. Couldn't they have hacked into the police system and gotten what they wanted then? Sakuno wasn't sure if it was common knowledge that the police weren't very advanced in technological security.

When the bus stopped at the hospital, Sakuno almost sprinted out of her seat.

'_Geez Sakuno, calm down. Niou-san will get you out of this.'_

She frowned at her thoughts. Why was she depending on Niou? Even if he did have a plan, what was the probability of it succeeding? No, she couldn't put all her trust in him, it wasn't fair. But what could she do?

Suddenly, Yuri flashed through Sakuno's mind.

The conversation they had yesterday was indeed strange, meaning that Sakuno hadn't overanalyzed the situation. Yuri was a woman who spoke in a brash manner, not once had Sakuno heard her speak nervously. They weren't exactly close either so if Yuri wanted to see someone about her problems, it would be her best friend, not Sakuno.

She chuckled dryly. These people had been targeting her since yesterday morning.

But why?

Niou informed her about the folder about half an hour ago and they themselves didn't know about this folder until at least two hours ago. If Fuji knew about it earlier, then he would've asked her about it while she was at the office.

The reason why this folder was important was..? Whose names were in it? She wanted to look inside but considered the consequences. But...why would someone be following her? How could someone outside the office know about the folder? Whoever sent this man to follow her must not have known about the folder…or did they?

It just didn't make sense to her. She found the folder only a few hours ago and if they were targeting her since yesterday, they thought she had something to offer in terms of their objective.

...So why were they after her? And why so quick?

It was too late to ask Niou about it so she swiftly created a message and sent it to Fuji. Her perplexed russet eyes looked up and relaxed when estimating the entrance was about ten metres away.

But the feeling didn't last long. Her concern was Yuri. Was somebody with her?

'_Fuji-senpai...Niou-san, what do I do?'_

Because of Sakuno, Yuri might be in danger. She gasped. The baby! There was no way Yuri would be threatened so easily; someone must have the boy.

Without knowing what she was going to do, Sakuno stepped inside the hospital and briskly walked towards the nursery.

* * *

><p>After the second time Fuji called Niou, he suspected something was amiss. After the fourth call, he was convinced that something was wrong. After he received a text message from Sakuno wondering why she was being followed, Fuji almost hit himself.<p>

He should've listened to Niou. It w as obvious that she would be the one Yamamoto would want – she was an easy target. Sakuno wasn't physically strong and she was his assistant. Fuji was overconfident, a dangerous state of mind to enter.

It was at six o'clock on a Tuesday evening when Fuji was enlightened.

Sakuno was more than an assistant to him. She was like a baby sister to him; they weren't considerably close nor were they distant. They were right in the middle.

His apprehension rose. The fact that Niou was in the Kanagawa Prefecture didn't help his anxiety.

Fuji knew about the encounters Niou had with Yamamoto's crew. He also knew those encounters caused Niou to withdraw further away from people. It angered Fuji although he would never admit this to Niou. The lawyer found it slightly depressing Niou wouldn't anyone aside from Yagyuu enter into his life.

He chuckled bitterly. Of all the times to comprehend how much of a significance these people had in his life.

Determined to do what he could for those two, Fuji picked up the phone and made a few important calls.

* * *

><p>From the window of the doctor's office, he could see Ryuzaki and her stalker enter the hospital.<p>

"Thank you for lending me your clothes, Dr. Fujisawa. I can't promise that I'll return it."

Niou walked away from the tied up doctor and stopped in front of the mirror on the back of the door. He was almost a replica of the doctor. It was difficult to find the necessary items to temporarily dye his hair black and age his skin but he managed. Hopefully the solutions he used wouldn't affect him.

He had to wear his suit underneath the doctor's clothes to make him a little bulgy like the doctor was. After putting on glasses, Niou stepped out of the office and made his way towards the entrance.

Many nurses greeted him and some asked him questions about patients. Some were relatively easy to answer while others weren't.

"Fujisawa-sensei, for what date did you reschedule Hana-san's knee surgery?"

"He is..."

"...The teenage tennis player, sir." The nurse frowned.

"In an hour."

"Sir? But I thought you said it wasn't a high priority..."

"In an hour."

"Y-yes sir."

A tennis player wasn't high priority? That was the biggest bullshit he'd ever heard.

He was passing the nursery, still irritated at the nurse, when Sakuno entered his line of vision. She had walked into the hallway he was in after making a left. Her eyes were glued on the glass, searching for something. He glanced to his right and noticed a man who looked really out of place with his bulky silver chains and ripped jeans.

"Ah, Doctor!" The woman exclaimed. He looked back at her and saw the stalker a few feet behind her, noticing the eye contact he made with the man inside the nursery.

Niou sighed; the idiot really was careless to show himself so close to her. Obviously lingering so close to a target would alert them. Ryuzaki was a fine example – she was so dense and even she managed to catch on to him.

"Can I help you?"

"Mhmm, I was looking for room 315 A."

Her eyes were troubled and bore into him. She was trying to tell him something...and why did she come through the nursery if she wanted to go to that room? All she had to do was walk straight...a thought suddenly clicked in his mind.

"Well I'm afraid you're going to have to take the long way around."

"Oh? Why is that doctor?" Her voice was tight.

"There seems to be a struggle in the hallway near that wing. The police and some gang members are involved." Niou noticed the other two stiffen. "The gang members are outnumbered by two though, so it'll be okay."

"Oh my!" Sakuno brought a hand to her mouth and widened her eyes. It didn't take long for the other two to leave towards the wing. Niou almost rolled his eyes at the stupidity of the two. Had there been a brawl, the staff and visitors wouldn't have been so calm.

The woman bit her lip and sighed deeply. "I'm glad you caught on."

He raised an eyebrow as she briskly walked past him into the nursery and towards a cradle. "How'd you know it was me?"

Sakuno picked up the child and grinned nervously. "Your posture."

Niou kept his features clear of surprise. He returned to his normal state immediately when he observed her trembling form.

"Chill. It'll be fine." He walked to her, placed a firm hand on her shoulder and lightly squeezed. Their eyes met and she searched for something. It made him a vaguely uncomfortable.

"T-thank you."

He nodded, relieved she turned her gaze away from him. "They were watching the baby after all. I think they're also with my cousin's wife."

"We can't do anything about that right now. Let's get out of here."

"Huh? I can't leave her!."

Niou narrowed his eyes. "And what are you going to do? Fight them yourself?"

Sakuno put the infant back into the cradle carefully as she thought what to say next. "I-I, well I..."

"Don't kid yourself. Do you have the folder?"

"...Yes..."

Niou's eye twitched. She sounded as though she was going to cry. With a hand on her shoulder, he led the both of them towards the entrance swiftly. She resisted but wasn't strong enough to push him away. That didn't stop her from making multiple attempts to get free.

"Stop it."

"I-I can't leave Yuri there!"

"You just did."

"But-"

"Why do you do that?" He took his hand away from her and tossed his makeshift clothes off. He then picked up the doctor's coat and rubbed the solution off his skin.

"Do what?" She frowned and wouldn't look him in the eyes, very much annoyed with him.

"Think you can do something when you clearly lack the ability. It's a waste of energy."

She was quiet for awhile then turned his question on him. "And why don't you do things when you know you're capable?"

"What do you mean by that?" He asked in a tired tone, not really caring what she had to say. His goal was to distract her from running away or crying. Fuji would probably have his head for it.

"I'm talking about your cowardice."

He stopped walking and narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"

"...You heard me."

Niou grabbed her arm and slammed her against the wall. She cried out in pain and shock. He didn't care if she was a woman. No one had the right to insult him like that.

"Ever gotten shot and landed in the hospital three times?" She wouldn't look at him. "Think before you speak you weak insect."

He did not expect to get slapped.

Two thoughts instantly ran through his mind: he was the older of the two and there were people who were after them. There was no time to spare for bickering.

"You are so annoying." With that he flipped her over his shoulder, ignoring her protests and screams. He didn't care about the surprised looks and glares which came his way as he ran out. Instead, he isolated himself into his happy place, wanting all of this to end.

"—hated a man so much in my life before! Put me down!"

Ryuzaki hating someone? He knew that wasn't possible; she thought too much of people to really hate them. It was her rage speaking and boy, could she go on forever. So he tuned her out.

Before he could sprint towards his car, Niou noticed that the parking lot was full of police cars and policemen. Niou identified himself and Sakuno and pointed them in the right direction. No doubt that his was all Fuji's work. He was a good ally to have.

"Um, Niou-san, I believe treating a lady in that-"

"Just go and do your job."

He sprinted towards the car, opened the driver's seat and threw the woman into the passenger seat. As she groaned and nursed the pain on her side, Niou used the moment to his advantage to start the car and drive. She wasn't going to say anything because in the end, what he did was the right thing.

As they left the hospital, Fuji called and informed them that Sakuno's extended family was under protection. Apparently Sanada was with this squad and Niou did not want to see him, especially after rudely speaking to one of his sub-ordinates.

But a particular, low-ranking member of the squad caught his eye. He was standing away from the group and constantly looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching. Niou observed the man was talking into something…maybe a mobile, which made the most sense.

After making a mental note of the man, Niou accelerated and left the hospital far behind.

* * *

><p><strong>Lily: <strong>Thanks for the support, everyone! As for the characters appearing, it's very dependent on how the story develops and which roles need to be filled that characters are used. I think Tezuka would make for a good policeman and Fuji a good lawyer so for Ryoma appearing, who knows, maybe yes, maybe no.

Just so you all are aware, I have written chapters in advance but I'm not liking that my writing has declined in quality. So the next update may not be for awhile - I'd rather continue the somewhat upgraded quality in terms of my writing than not. Again thanks for the support! For the anonymous reviewers:

**zahmaye **- I have wanted to write a NiouxSaku fic for so long after reading so many amazing ones. Hopefully this is meeting expectation for you :)

**tsubame-chan -** Ha, I do like TezuSaku as well and let's just say Niou and Sakuno have a lot of issues to deal with before anything else.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Mind the rating and some warning for cussing. I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.

* * *

><p>Tetsu had been caught! Hiro swore as he disconnected the call and sprinted towards the elevators that would take him to their leader, Akiko Yamamoto. She wouldn't like what he had to say but she must know!<p>

Tetsu wasn't a smart one but he was the most loyal and efficient sub-ordinate of them all. This was the reason he was chosen to go after the lawyer's assistant. No one expected the Tokyo's police squad to come in to the Kanagawa Prefecture in order to track them down.

The reputation of the Prefecture's weren't the greatest, considering most of them had been bought out by the Yamamoto family. Had all things gone according to plan, that assistant would have been in their hands already.

The sudden ringing of the elevator caused Hiro to snap back to reality. His mind became alert and he rushed towards the two men hired as guards for the V.I.P. room of the club. All three exchanged nods and he was allowed entry.

"Madam! Tetsu got arrested –"

_BANG_.

Hiro's last thought in life went towards his two children waiting for him at home and the regret of becoming a part of this dangerous world.

"Gentlemen, this is a warning to all of you. I hate bad news."

Yamamoto flipped her brown hair over her shoulder and placed her revolver on the small table in front of her and her guest, in between their drinks. Her guest kept his dark eyes on the lifeless body until two of her men finally finished cleaning the scene.

She snapped her fingers and two of her men collected the corpse into a large sack and carried him away. The rest waited for orders, desensitized to the whole process.

"There are three things I need; first is a report of how Tetsu was arrested. Two, I want the file and it does not matter how I get it. Three, I want another 151."

The shortest of her men rushed out to get her drink and another claimed to have the details of Tetsu's arrest already sent to his PDA.

The woman watched him as the details were read aloud and continued watching him, forming questions in her mind. Eventually it was revealed by her lovely guest of the police force that Tetsu's arrest was caused by Niou Masaharu and Fuji Syusuke and that the assistant still had the file.

Yamamoto learned Niou was currently with the assistant and Fuji was in Tokyo.

"…Bring Niou to me and kill the woman. I want those names the file contains and Niou's dead body. Dispose of the other one. I want this done by tonight."

* * *

><p>It had been a year too long since Tezuka visited the tomb of his grandfather. In the past couple of years, he found himself in the graveyard either on the anniversary of his grandfather's death or during great times of distress.<p>

It was another two weeks until the death anniversary.

Tezuka lit the incense and pressed his palms together in prayer. He wished for the current series of events to come to an end soon. Yes, it had only just begun but the escapade of Yamamoto was causing too many headaches.

The death rate increased dramatically in the last few days and the media was starting to make the connections. The Yamamoto clan was the definite cause of all of this as they were running at full force. Their enemies and competition were being eliminated at an alarming rate now that the heir of the clan had returned.

She was known to be impulsive and cruel, her heart having no room for interpersonal relationships. Yamamoto Akiko was known to have only one lover and that love had ended many years ago.

Few men were selected by Sanada, his second-in-command, to seduce the woman and blur her ambitions. Some managed to get out of the assignment alive and some were not so lucky.

Tezuka was aware of the capabilities of this woman, one who had unlimited resources. Fuji and Niou, among many others, were in danger and if things didn't end soon, their graves would be the ones he and Sanada would visit in the future.

After apologizing to his grandfather for unable to work this case in an objective manner, he answered his mobile, which had been buzzing continuously for the past ten minutes.

"Tezuka, Ryuzaki is with Niou and they both have the folder you were looking for. Unfortunately, Niou left as soon as he could so they are on their way back to the city without sufficient protection, like you wanted."

He sighed as Fuji continued to give him a recount of what occurred in the last two hours. Sometimes he wished Fuji had chosen to work for the police instead of becoming a lawyer. His dedication would have been incredibly useful. Hell, Fuji was better than 95% of his force.

"Thank you, Fuji."

So now he had Ryuzaki to worry about. The graves of Niou and Fuji would be increased by two should he and Sanada fail to protect Ryuzaki Sakuno and his previous tennis coach got a hold of them.

* * *

><p>The scenery was passing by much too quickly. It was difficult to leave this awful reality and enter her peaceful world.<p>

While Niou drove above the speed limit, there were a few times when Sakuno wanted to turn and yell at him to slow down. But she resisted. It wouldn't do to anger him again. It was frightening and painful when he pushed her against the wall.

Her heart leaped into her throat every time Niou moved in his seat, no matter how insignificant the gesture was. She was apprehensive. Would he pierce her very being again with his dark green eyes?

"Sorry."

She blinked. An apology? From the proud and arrogant Niou? Well, if he was expecting an apology from her for the slap, then he could stop right there. There was no way she was apologizing – he deserved it.

She didn't accept or reject the apology from him though, just kept silent and pretended not to hear him.

"Your relative will be fine."

The thought of Yumi and the baby of possibly being held hostage brought tears to her eyes. Suddenly, all of the fear, apprehensiveness, frustration and failure she felt in the past hour reached its peak and she began to cry.

At the next red light, Niou glanced at the sniffling woman next to him then breathed deeply. He'd never made a woman cry before. The sort of women he tended to attract were the confident type, who were quite pleased by either his appearance or personality.

These women would only show him their smiles or pleasant sides, never the ugly or weak side of themselves. So he was quite at a loss at what to do but at the same time, he wasn't _too_ bothered her tears. So he chose to let her have her moment in peace.

Eventually the sniffling slowed in intensity and softened at volume. By then, Niou had passed a convenient store and decided to turn around.

"Wait here."

Sakuno didn't utter a sound, mostly because she was embarrassed at her actions. She actually cried in front of Niou, of all people. But she did feel much better – her mind was much clearer and a heavy feeling in her chest disappeared. Now she could think properly and plan.

The first priority was to leave Niou as soon as possible. This was the most interaction they've had since high school and clearly, they brought out the bad sides of one another. Times truly had changed since they were in their teens…

She shook her head. Now was not the time to be dwelling on the past…or past crushes. The present needed to be dealt with. So after she left Niou, and the folder would be left with him, then she would instantly go home and leave home with her grandmother.

They needed to go somewhere safe, where it would be difficult to be tracked down. Sakuno understood that this dilemma ran deeper than the contents of the file. Fuji would be the right person to go to. If he could make arrangements in such a short amount of time with her and the file, then surely he could do something for her and her grandmother.

Yamamoto was obviously trying to achieve revenge on Fuji and Niou because of what they did to her. She knew she would be brought into this somehow because she was Fuji's first and possibly last assistant. He was a distrustful man.

Sakuno sighed and then caught Niou's movement from the corner of her eye.

He was inside the tiny store, debating on two choices of drinks. After he chose, the man walked towards the counter to pay for the items. She spied two drinks and couldn't help but smile. When he finished the task, Niou left the store and walked towards the vehicle.

It was in that moment that Sakuno saw something in him that she hadn't seen in many years: the prideful stride of an elegant man.

Those eyes that didn't express affection, that luscious, long silver hair and the arrogant tread he always maintained. Those were the three features about him which caught her attention in the first place.

Niou was always testing people, always wanting to prove that he was the one who knew the most about the human mind. Why he did that was beyond her. Then again, this was her analysis of him and whether or not she was right was another matter.

Sometimes Sakuno felt as though she was looking at a stranger. Niou had a reputation of being a Trickster when tennis was a huge priority in his life and he was called as such because of the deceit he played on another's mind. He knew the human psyche and he knew it well – how to pinpoint someone's weakness and strengths and how to use them as a weapon.

In the end, she didn't like how he treated people. And that would always be a factor in their relations…although it was kind of nice of him to buy her a drink as well. It didn't feel natural for Niou to do this so she reached into her purse for coins to pay him back.

And that was when she saw the vehicle coming at her with great speed.

* * *

><p>Sanada hated the smell of alcohol and always knew clubs weren't suited for him. What were the chances that he would be spending his free time in them?<p>

"What are you doing out here?"

His muscles tensed and then relaxed quickly. It was a bit of a surprise that Yamamoto would be the one to find him outside. The dark haired male turned and seriously could not help but look at her nearly exposed chest.

The dress she wore was his favourite shade of green, and she seemed to be wearing a lot of the same dark green lately, and it barely covered her. Her stomach, shoulders, legs, arms and even her back was bare. What was the point in wearing clothes if they barely covered?

Sanada averted his eyes and looked straight into those cold blue eyes of hers.

"Clubs do not suit my preferences, Yamamoto-san."

She observed him for awhile then smirked.

"Then, my dear, what kind of places do you prefer?"

"Places with noise levels which would not cause me to become deaf."

Yamamoto chuckled and tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear. She approached him and pushed him against the wall before pressing her body against him.

"You remind me so much of him…"

Her eyes lost their usual spite and became glazed. He scoffed – he hated being compared to _him._ With a hand placed on the small of her back and one on her cheek, Sanada leaned towards her and kissed her.

Surely he and the other did not kiss in the same manner?

* * *

><p>It was the first time in his life Niou actually froze in fear. Why this emotion overtook him, instead of anger, he was not sure.<p>

He could only watch as the unmarked white van rammed into his gorgeous Lexus. It hit the Lexus near the rear doors and his vehicle spun around twice and before flipping over to its side. The van continuously hit the underside of his car.

'_Shit! Ryuzaki!'_

Niou dropped everything and ran towards the passenger side. Luckily, he was tall enough to reach the door as the car was positioned so the driver's side was on the bottom. The door was flung open then quickly detached from the car.

He cursed and the pace of his heartbeats accelerated.

Ryuzaki couldn't properly be seen from his angle, he could just see the bottom of the seat, but he was reaching and yelling at her to undo the belt buckle, hoping she was conscious. It was proving to be difficult since the van was still slamming into the car and it kept lurching towards him.

A piece of metal broke, flew towards him and cut Niou underneath the eye. It stung tremendously but he had no time to worry about that – he needed to get Ryuzaki out.

"Ryuzaki! _Undo the damn belt_!"

Metal scraped against metal in an awful screeching sound. People were starting to notice what was happening and some stood in shock while fewer ran towards Niou and Sakuno, wanting to aid the two in some way possible.

After much yelling at both Sakuno and the gathering crowd of people, Niou _finally_ saw her head. When her eyes came into view, he could see she was in a daze, disorientated.

Her movements were sluggish and she looked _terrible_. She had scratches along her right arm and on both cheeks. There was a thick stream of blood flowing down the side of her head, hinting at a cut on her head somewhere.

Never had Niou been tested to this extreme with his discomfort of blood.

An image of a furious Fuji passed through his mind and Niou held his breath and pulled Sakuno out of the car. He held her firm against his chest. Her right arm caught a shredded metal piece and was cut from the wrist to the elbow. Niou swore.

The car made an incredible lurch and a stranger became trapped underneath it. The man screamed for help and some were assisting him. There were screams and shouts; it was chaotic. He covered her head and took her away to a corner where they couldn't be seen.

Niou didn't have the time to worry about other people; his priority was to get Ryuzaki out of there. It was obvious to him who had sent people after them. It was starting all over again.

But this time, his anger was incomparable to the last time he was attacked by Yamamoto's people. It wasn't _him_ they injured but a woman who did absolutely nothing to harm their clan. As much as this woman annoyed Niou, she was an _innocent._

The memory of Yamamoto and her men in his apartment flashed through his mind. She was standing in front of him, smirking.

'_How does it feel, Ma-sa-ha-ru? How does it feel to be at Death's door?'_

That time, he said nothing, not wanting to give her the confirmation of the fear he felt. But today as Ryuzaki, cradled against his chest bled exceedingly, he declared war; all of the hesitation Niou felt for this case completely vanished.

"We will bring you down, you arrogant bitch."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Thanks everyone for the reviews! I tried to keep people in character, which proved a little difficult for this chapter...


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** _I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters_

_****_**A/N:** And we're back. Notice the rating as the following chapter will have cussing here and there.

* * *

><p>Sakuno couldn't breathe nor could she move.<p>

With great difficulty, she opened her eyes but there was something heavy blurring her vision…She recognized blood on her eyelashes…and there was movement. If she couldn't move…then how were the buildings on the street being left behind? She hoped those large grey, fuzzy things were buildings…

Soon, the images became less blurry but the glint of silver hurt her eyes, causing a choked groan to be emitted from within her.

"Ryuzaki?"

"..N…i…"

It was Niou…he was carrying her. Her thoughts suddenly went to pain in her chest, sides and arm. There was so much blood…

What was happening to her?

* * *

><p>"A rat? Tezuka, this is terrible and unexpected from you."<p>

Fuji's criticism was anticipated and Tezuka was ready for it. He listened passively as Fuji spoke about the trust the society had in the police force and that this was unacceptable. Sometimes, only sometimes, the lawyer could be fairly annoying.

"Fuji, although the criticism is expected, I came to you for alternative routes."

The brown haired man stopped talking and opened his eyes completely.

"Yes, there is a rat within our office and that is something that needs to be dealt with. My worry lies with Niou and Ryuzaki. I know their lives are in peril, I have been told so by my informer. Yamamoto wants them to disappear by tonight."

Fuji frowned.

"An…informer?"

Tezuka ignored the curious tone and continued.

"I need your assistance. You have more resources than I do. We need to make sure those two are able to enter into our jurisdiction safely. I am aware of the state of the Kanagawa police force and I am aware of how many obstacles will be blocking them from entering Tokyo's district. If they are here, they will be easier to protect. I need you to make calls and find alternatives while I investigate. This is a delicate procedure and requires confidentiality."

"…Tezuka, that must be longest paragraph you have ever mustered."

Fuji chuckled and Tezuka sighed. It was too good to be true that Fuji was being serious instead of his usual teasing self. Oh well, as long as the point of tonight was made clear to him.

"I'll get them here before dawn, Tezuka."

Tezuka's gaze lingered on his friend a little while longer then he turned to leave.

Fuji's confidence reminded him of another's, one who was close to him at a point in time. Now she was living her life, not in the best way, but in ways which made her happy. There were times when his thoughts were lost to those memories with her and they always ended the same – the imprint of her shadow would slowly turn into Fuji.

And that thought, above all else, instilled some fear in Tezuka.

* * *

><p>Never before had the feeling of guilt weighed so heavily on Niou.<p>

This wasn't the first time Ryuzaki needed to be hospitalized on his account. Although, that time years ago was less severe. Surely she didn't have multiple injuries and bleeding bandages covering her body then?

Niou sighed and looked at her sleeping form then returned his emerald eyes to her face. Her bangs hid the treated gash on her forehead but were not long enough to cover the cut on the edge of her right eye. Multiple minor cuts were scattered amongst her face and she was extremely lucky to have her eyesight unharmed.

He didn't even want to look at her body again. There was too much blood spots here and there, meaning the bandages needed to be changed. It was strange because they were here for only an hour and a half. After glancing at the clock, Niou knew it was a quarter to twelve. Where had the night gone?

Oh yeah, running around frantically to find a hospital and avoiding the police at the same time. There wasn't anyone in these parts he could ask for assistance as they would be in danger as well. Embarrassingly enough, it took all of Niou's willpower to resist fainting during this emergency.

He was holding a bloody Ryuzaki and his nerves were not handling it well.

When Niou finally reached a hospital, he was a mess. His clothes were either ripped or ruined by smears of blood or mud. But when they came to pry her out of his hands, his heart rate accelerated yet again. Where would they take her? He wouldn't be able to follow her.

It scared him.

And this type of fear – the kind which one felt for another – was alien to him. He had felt apprehension to extreme levels previously when his siblings were in danger because of Yamamoto. But pure fear was never felt for them before – Niou knew he could get his brother away from her so it was just time pressures which plagued him then.

But as he gazed upon this woman in front of him, who looked to be on the verge of death, the fear settled deep in his mind and body. His muscles felt heavier and his mind was weary. He just wanted to sleep for a short time, perhaps nap for a half an hour or so.

Surely those bastards wouldn't reach them here. He had created a fake identity for Ryuzaki while she underwent operation. It was extremely lucky she did not get a reaction to any of the medication, so that must have meant when he was right when checking off the 'no allergies' box on the form.

Yes…they wouldn't find them here. He could sleep for a bit, perhaps for ten minutes…

* * *

><p>Oishi always relied on instincts and when a thought to check the rooms passed his mind, he obliged. As the doctor made his rounds, which were very time consuming as he made sure that each patient in a ward was comfortable, he couldn't help but smile.<p>

It was a relatively quiet night compared to most. The usual noise was present – the clicking of computer keys by the administration team, the chattering of nurses on duty, the occasional wheelchair being pushed – but it was reassuring. If a hospital was too silent, then it would be a cause of joy or sorrow, depending on the situation.

An hour later, Oishi had spoken to many, patients and employees alike. It was when he neared the intensive care unit that a strange feeling irked him. It was a sense of familiarity…scanning the room, he was surprised to see Niou Masaharu, a fellow classmate and tennis player from years ago.

As he neared the bed at which he sat, his curiosity and concern increased. It somewhat made sense to why Niou would be here since his family resided in this district. There was such an aura of defeat surrounding him that Oishi couldn't help but feel immensely concerned for him.

"Niou-san?"

The silver haired man startled – it seemed as though he was waking from a light slumber. When those green eyes stared at him, Oishi was taken aback by the fear in them. It took Niou about three seconds to regain his composure after recognizing him.

"Oishi. Long time no see."

"Niou-san, it seems as though you've been here awhile. Is this-"

Oishi's eyes widened after recalling who the patient looked similar to. "I-is that Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter?"

Niou nodded and calmly narrated the events of the day. By the end of the tale, Oishi's facial muscles ached. His expression changed according to each sentence spoken. All of this was almost impossible to understand and Ryuzaki becoming involved was the cherry on top.

He checked her chart, found at the foot of the bed and passively listened to the reminder of Niou's dialogue. Suddenly, a very heavy weight had been placed on his shoulders, to the point of them depressing. Oishi felt responsible. The reason of why wasn't clear but he did.

"Niou-san, please rest in my office. There is a couch there you can sleep on. Don't worry about Ryuzaki; I'll have the hospital security keep watch on her."

The silver haired man stared at him to the point that he felt uncomfortable. Niou nodded and after Oishi gave him directions, he left. Sighing, the doctor thought about what to do.

The first task was to call either Fuji or Tezuka. The only phone number he had was Fuji's so he went to the nearest empty office and called him immediately.

* * *

><p>The nap Niou intended to take was terrible in quality. Every ten minutes, he would wake after having a nightmare about either Ryuzaki dying, him dying or both of them dying in some manner due to that bitch.<p>

Two hours of irregular sleep later, Oishi came into the office and woke Niou.

"Niou-san, I've spoken with Fuji and he thought it best to move the two of you to Tokyo as soon as possible. My shift is almost complete, another hour to go and I can give you a lift to your destination. I can't believe something like this is happening and if what Fuji says is true, then we may be on a time restraint."

Niou listened carefully and was somewhat surprised by Oishi's kindness. They had spent some time together during tennis camps but time to time, the amount of effort Oishi placed on other people did shock him. And right now, he was happy to take the offer of a lift, seeing as how his beautiful Lexus was destroyed.

"When do we move and how do we shift Ryuzaki?"

"We will leave at dawn. Fuji said to keep every process and action as natural as possible since this woman will be watching carefully. I need to fill some forms to have Ryuzaki transferred immediately."

Niou nodded and after planning out their route, he returned to the ward Ryuzaki was kept in. There were minor improvements with her condition, notably the lack of blood. Her bandages had been changed and the cuts on her skin seemed as though it was healing nicely.

He took her hand into both of his and pressed it against his forehead. There were so many regrets he had from the past two days. Maybe if different decisions were made, then this wouldn't have happened…

Maybe if he could go back in time, back to when they attended high school, and he didn't treat her like a doormat, then maybe situations and feelings would be different in the present. Maybe if he didn't completely blow her off after that incident, then maybe she would have thought different of him, trusted him more.

If she did, then he wouldn't have hurt her in the hospital, like he did a few hours ago. They wouldn't have gotten into an argument and he wouldn't have bought her a drink to make up for his behaviour. They _wouldn't_ have stopped at the convenience store and this accident wouldn't have occurred.

It was such a pain in the ass at the force karma struck at.

"Sorry…Ryuzaki."

But no matter how many times an apology was made, the guilt did not ease away from Niou's mind. He needed her to be awake, to talk to him, to forgive him as she usually did.

"Wake up…"

And she continued to sleep, unaware what he was feeling, unaware of what was happening around her. Maybe she was having an easier time with sleep, maybe she was at peace. And truthfully, she did deserve it.

Niou ran his hand through her hair then cupped her face.

"I won't leave your side until you wake up."

Niou's attention suddenly went to the window. The light of the rising sun had crept along the floor, edging closer and closer to them until it stretched across her body. He had not noticed the sunrise.

Hours had passed by? How? It was already time for them to leave. As soon as the thought passed through his mind, he heard Oishi clear his throat uncomfortably. Clearly he was surprised to see him holding Ryuzaki's hand.

"The paperwork has been submitted and won't take long to be approved. We should move now."

"Moving a patient before approval?"

"…It's…an emergency, I'm sure the directors will understand –"

"After you tell them the dangers of keeping this particular patient here."

Oishi nodded hesitantly, trying to keep with Niou's trail of thought. With the help of a security guard, Ryuzaki was placed in the backseat of Oishi's car and given a pillow to rest her head on and a blanket to keep her warm. Changing her clothes in the condition she was in proved to be a heinous task so they left her in the patient garb.

Soon enough, all three were on the road. The morning traffic hadn't reached its peak just yet so the journey was smooth and constant. They didn't make stops in case of being trailed – Niou learned his lesson from the first time.

Despite the amount of pain he was in because of his odd positioning in the front passenger seat, Niou kept a firm grasp on Ryuzaki the entire time, in case she fell forward anytime Oishi stopped. Both men did not make conversation. He didn't feel like talking and he was sure Oishi was extremely fatigued to say anything.

…Right, Oishi _was_ extremely tired.

"I'll drive from here."

"Niou-san-"

"I just encountered a vicious car accident a few hours ago, I don't need another one in less than twenty-four hours."

"A-ah…okay, thank you."

Niou had a few remarks to make about the handling of the piece of junk Oishi drove – he was a doctor, he could afford something _much _better – but he kept them to himself. The guy was doing them a huge favour and they weren't even close friends.

"Niou-san…I won't let her fall."

He was taken aback but masked it well. "What?"

"You keep glancing in the rear view mirror every three seconds…please don't worry. I have a firm grasp on her. Please concentrate on the destination."

In spite of the extraordinary amount of emotions Niou experienced in the last twelve hours, he kept himself composed. Oishi's observation almost caused him to react. Almost.

He wasn't sure exactly why he was fretting over Ryuzaki. Yes, he felt guilty about the outcome of the night but there was something else that bothered him…he didn't recognize the feeling. It wasn't normal and honestly, all these emotions were stressing him out. He didn't know how to handle them.

Amid the confusion in his mind, Niou recognized that he needed to get them to Tokyo in one piece. So he repressed the nagging thoughts in his mind and slight sped to get there faster.

* * *

><p>"How is she?"<p>

Judging by Oishi's reaction, Fuji assumed Oishi did not hear him at all. When his dear friend turned to face him, the fatigue was apparent. After a quick summary of the diagnosis, Fuji nodded and relayed Tezuka's offer of accommodation. Staying in his own apartment would be dangerous for Oishi and it wouldn't be right to place him in such after what he had done.

"Sa, I think I'll take him up on that."

After exchanging goodbyes, the doctor left to meet with Tezuka in the waiting room. Fuji watched him walk down the hall before stepping into the dimly lit room.

He smiled in amusement when finding Niou adjusting his tie, as if dressing himself to go to the office.

"Niou."

"Yo."

Relief washed over Fuji and this initially came as a shock. This must have been the first time he felt apprehension for Niou. The last time they were attacked by Yamamoto, Niou's reactions were predictable since family was involved. This time, it was harder to judge what he would do since Sakuno was accompanying him. Surely he wasn't feeling too happy about her hospitalization – Niou probably saw this as a failure.

"I've placed extra security around your apartment as well as Ryuzaki's. Although, I suggest that you stay with me for a few days, Niou."

"Why would I want to do that?"

"We are both being hunted and it seems logical to stay as close together as possible. This way, we'll know each other best until Yamamoto is caught."

"It makes sense to split – at least one of us has a chance to escape should it get to that."

Fuji said nothing, merely frowned and even that was minuscule. Nothing ever went unnoticed by Niou.

"Oh, had another agenda in mind, did we? What's going through that fucked up mind of yours, Fuji?"

"Listen-"

"F-fuji…sen…pai…?"

Both men instantly turned to Sakuno, who was looking towards Fuji. He opened his eyes before reaching for her hand.

"Good morning, Sakuno-chan. You're looking quite beautiful today."

She attempted to chuckle but started coughing violently. Fuji sat on the chair provided next to the bed and tried to ease her into relaxation.

"I…I am r-really…sorry…f-f-for ev…erything…"

"…Sakuno-chan, you have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. If anything, it should be me apologizing to you for getting you involved."

Her dull eyes suddenly flickered and she slowly smiled. There was something else she wanted to say but couldn't, having used all of her energy. Quicker than a blink of the eye, she was asleep once again. Niou left the room instantly.

Fuji allowed five minutes to pass before following Niou out the door. While his partner was an expert at masking familiar emotions, such as anger, with stoic expression at all times, new ones were much harder to hide. This confusion which was running through Niou's mind all centred around one young woman.

The pain he felt when Sakuno did not acknowledge him was obvious.

Fuji smiled and finally caught up with him at the elevator. The days to follow would be intensive but the brown haired man never felt such a thrill before – Sakuno was safe, Tezuka had an informer and Niou was back in Tokyo.

"We'll be seeing each other almost every minute of the days to follow as we track her down. Isn't this nice, Niou?"

"Just don't fall in love with me, bro."

"Don't hate me if I my mind and hands wander."

"…You are such a creep."

"You're such a handsome man, Niou, it cannot be helped."

"Holy - ! Stand on the OTHER side of the elevator!"

And this was the last bit of fun Fuji ever had with Niou for many days to come. If making Niou uncomfortable was the best way to distract him from his pain, then Fuji would do it.

After all, Niou was like a younger brother to him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: I can never remember who I've replied to and who not in terms of reviews. Sorry about that! There have been some concerns about Sananda...but hey, in the end, he's human too ;)


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.

**Warning for language.**

* * *

><p>Niou never appreciated the view his office offered until today.<p>

It was on the 18th floor and the large window showed him the busy life of the district. From residences on his left to shops on his right, this part of Tokyo was bustling. Nothing of dire nature seemed to plague these people, merely conflicts with family members and friends time to time.

Their peaceful lives made him incredibly jealous. Yes, he chose a life of a lawyer but it was not as expected. This occupation allowed development of analytic personality – something he realized needed fine-tuning after his loss to Fuji in tennis during middle school.

This job had him meet various types of people but mostly the selfish type. Niou's speciality was criminal law and those individuals with records or tendency to become his clients were those with antisocial personality disorder or victims of terrible crimes and both the clientele were unfortunate.

Fuji would warn against practicing in that particular field. He had worked extensively in the criminal field and found circumstances too dangerous for his liking but Niou disregarded his advice every time the topic arose. Though after the Yamamoto case, he strayed from such dangerous cases and worked in cases dealing with lower level crimes.

Niou's anger spiked at the thought of her name. She was someone who wasn't easy to read, even from the time they met seven years ago in high school. His opinion of her was low – she was an arrogant nuisance although he was one of the few to see through her façade; she was known to others in their high school as the beautiful and kind Yamamoto Akiko.

Bullshit.

He couldn't help but smirk at the thought of the surprise his peers must have felt when she was revealed to be the daughter of an infamous drug lord. He wasn't the type to defame another individual's character out of the blue – unless it affected him personally, that is.

In this case, she was poison to his life and needed to be rid of. And speaking of things to be rid of, Fuji's phone needed to be smashed against the wall. It had been going off every 30 seconds since 7 a.m. and Niou was reaching the limits of his tolerance. After all of this shit was dealt with, the first task to do is file for his own office.

The only reason he shared one with Fuji was to keep an eye on him because everything about the blue eyed man was suspicious when he initially joined the firm.

"Has she? That's great, when did she come around?"

Niou's ears perked and he took sudden interest in conversation which obviously concerned Ryuzaki. When he breathed, it felt different from before – it was as if an incredibly large weight was separated from him. The constant cycles of anger and stress he felt throughout the morning had momentarily disappeared. Right now what mattered was her health.

He took one last look at the scenery and returned to his desk to finish off the last bits of paperwork he had neglected in the past few days for obvious reasons. After filing these forms, he was going to concentrate on Yamamoto and search for methods to destroy her once and for all.

"Sakuno-chan regained consciousness earlier this afternoon."

Niou didn't say anything.

"I'm going to go visit."

He still didn't say anything.

"Sa, your silence tells me more than you want."

Niou mentally crossed his eyes at the over dramatic tone and looked up, only to raise an eyebrow when he found Fuji's normally closed eyes wide open. There wasn't any indication of humour.

"Don't ignore the feelings that are beginning to form, Niou. I'll be waiting in front."

The silver haired male frowned as Fuji left the office and turned his attention to the paperwork on the desk. Like hell he was forming feelings for that woman. The only feelings he had towards her were of guilt. He felt guilty with the attitude he kept towards her all these years and knew the reason for what happened stemmed from their strained relationship from high school.

He was _not_ forming _romantic_ feelings for her.

Ten minutes passed and nothing progressed in terms of paperwork. Niou grabbed his jacket and left the office in a terrible mood. Before he reached the elevators, his eyes settled on the receptionist.

…Wasn't she a single mother? And the newest addition to the team?

* * *

><p>"Mah, Sakuno, I still don't understand <em>why<em> or _how_ this happened."

Sakuno, propped up on her hospital bed, stopped fiddling with the white teddy bear Sumire bought her and sighed. She had already explained the story multiple times, the parts stored away in her memory anyway, to her grandmother but had left out significant parts involving Niou.

It wasn't something to hide but those parts of her memory were incredibly confusing. Just what happened after the car accident? There were enormous gaps in her memory and it was discomforting. She remembered being hit and tossed around in the car then someone telling her to wake up...

The next time she woke, she was in a private hospital room and wrapped in too many bandages for comfort. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to move too much otherwise the stitches would become undone. It was already 4 p.m. and she honestly didn't know how to keep herself preoccupied. She slept through most of the day but watching television through the rest of the time didn't have the same appeal as when she was younger.

"Quit this job, Sakuno."

A shock ran up her spine and she almost screamed at her grandmother then guilt quickly washed over her when seeing how worried Sumire seemed. Obviously, work was out of the question while her body needed to recover but there were subconscious plans to return to the firm.

She had an initial check-up from a psychiatrist and they had a relatively short session because it was still too early to go in depth with her feelings on the situation. The chat they had did invoke hidden emotions and plans that were subconsciously in her mind, such as returning to the work place.

Aside from her safety and health, the next big issue was Niou. She was so confused, so lost. It was clearly he who brought her here and she wasn't sure if the dialogue she heard in the few times she was conscious was real or imagined. Did this mean...she was forming feelings for Niou again?

There was a lot to think about but now was not the time. She had to focus on recovery and nothing else...even Niou had to take a backseat in her mind. Right now, she couldn't concentrate on him but on recovery and her future with this firm.

* * *

><p>The garden in his home always brought him serenity yet the recent days brought nothing but white noise.<p>

Niou reiterated, in great detail, what occurred on their return to Tokyo. Based on the tone used, growing apprehensions in Tezuka's mind centered on Niou's possible involvement in the case.

While both lawyers, Fuji and Niou, had an interest in the case due to personal reasons, both kept an arm's distance in terms of emotions. Yes, Niou became angry but something changed in his eyes after Ryuzaki was injured.

From his somewhat limited knowledge about the two, Ryuzaki and Niou were not on good terms. He didn't foresee any potential for feelings to be developed from either party. The problem at hand was if Niou became emotionally involved in the case and if he did, everything would become more messy than necessary.

There was a strategy put in place and nothing should hinder it. Although trained to, Tezuka preferred not to improvise a well thought out plan since it usually meant more chances of mistakes. And right now, mistakes were not allowed to occur.

"Sanada."

Sanada's footsteps were not as light as he probably thought and Tezuka turned to greet him.

"What news?"

"Her desperation for Niou's death has heightened."

"Why?"

"…You would know better than I, chief."

Both men stared at one another, refusing to break contact. It was a challenge – whose pride was stronger? Sanada hit a nerve, a weak point – Tezuka's past with Yamamoto was something he did not want to remember.

"Niou is playing into her hands, Sanada, with what's happened in the last three days. Can you manipulate the situation?"

For many moments, Sanada said nothing then slowly nodded. "She's completely ignoring Fuji."

"Because she does not share history with him."

"An advantage."

"Yes. Unfortunately I cannot say anymore on this matter."

Sanada nodded, understanding the concern. Some cops who went undercover never returned. He turned to leave but paused, feeling Tezuka's gaze upon his back.

"I have a strong feeling this is all for you, Tezuka."

The chief closed his eyes and silently agreed.

* * *

><p>"One more change, Ryuzaki-san…"<p>

Despite the gentleness of the nurses, she couldn't help but wince each time they touched her as they changed bandages. Unfortunately, Sakuno did not qualify for the exceptional number of pain killers they gave her earlier. According to the doctor, since she didn't break any bones, incur permanent tissue damage or undergo excruciating pain, the dose of pain killers needed to be lessened.

She almost cursed when the nurses told her the bad news. Those pills were helping considerably and now she was incredibly uncomfortable. Not to mention bored.

Sumire left quite some time ago because she couldn't emotionally handle the situation at hand. It was better for her to be home than at the hospital. Honestly, Sakuno wasn't ready for the negative emotions to take over. Not yet.

"There you go, all done."

She attempted to smile at the nurse but failed considerably. The nurse pulled the curtains from around the bed and to her surprise, Fuji was standing near the foot of the bed.

"How are you doing, Sakuno-chan?"

"F-Fuji-senpai…"

"I hope you aren't hurting too much?"

Fuji sat on the chair next to her bed and removed his scarf, hat and gloves to be more comfortable.

"I-it's been alright but if anything, lying here and having nothing to do is even worse…"

He chuckled and continued small talk. She noticed a movement from the corner of her eye and her heart stopped momentarily. The memories of what happened in the hospital with Yuri's baby passed through her mind. Did those thugs find her?!

She was near tears before realizing it was Niou standing in the doorway and almost smiled at him in relief.

"Yo."

She nodded as he took a seat next to Fuji. Following Niou's greeting was an incredibly awkward silence and Fuji seemed to be enjoying himself despite the obvious tension.

"Niou's been worried sick about you, you know."

As Niou's eye twitched, Sakuno couldn't help but chuckle.

"It's true, Sakuno-chan, he hasn't slept properly since he brought you here."

Blood rushed her cheeks in the form of a blush but goodness! It hurt! So even blushing was going to hurt?

"Keep your bullshit in the court room, Fuji."

"My, my, Niou's getting defensive, how scary!"

"E-eto, Niou-san…thank you." Sakuno felt like she had to something to stop Niou from punching Fuji and it worked - not that she wasn't truly thankful!

It was almost unnoticeable but he turned his eyes away from her and nodded. There was another worry in her mind…

"Ano, Fuji-senpai…what's going to happen now?" She looked down at her blanket and grasped at it with both hands. "Tezuka-san mentioned that after I had healed enough, I would be staying with him…I d-don't understand what's happening and this was all decided without my consent…nothing makes sense – why were they trying to hurt me? I d-didn't do anything…"

And she started crying – she hated herself so much right now. This was really embarrassing – the two famous, hardcore lawyers were sitting in her presence, handling this so well and here she was breaking down, looking like an ugly monster. Truthfully, she couldn't do this, it was all too much. It had been three days since everything first starting happening and she was scared.

First she snapped at Niou, a high ranked lawyer, got into an accident and there were plans to move her into Tezuka's home. If this much has happened in a few days, what will happen in one week? Sumire wouldn't be affected, right?

When Fuji closed his hand around hers, she looked up and sniffled.

"Sakuno-chan…I'm really sorry this happened to you but we – I promise that to the best of my ability, I will keep you safe."

Yet another frightening thing occured – Fuji opened his eyes and stared straight into hers. He was angry, upset. She smiled slightly, honored he would feel those emotions for her sake.

"…Thank you."

He placed a hand on her head in reassurance then excused himself, leaving her with Niou.

"…Me too. I'll make sure that bitch doesn't come near you again."

She was shocked. He rose to leave but she didn't want him to. There was a feeling within her chest that was tight and uncomfortable. There were many things to say…It worried her that he thought all of this was his fault. There was a sense of guilt in his eyes and as much as she did not like the man, she couldn't help but want to erase the guilt he felt.

"Ano, Niou-san!"

He stopped walking and looked over his shoulder.

"T-thank you. I really appreciate everyth-"

Suddenly, her chest tightened and she gasped, trying to ease her pain by grasping her gown. Sakuno fell back on her bed, panting heavily. Her body spasmed.

Niou was speechless then yelled for the nurse. He attempted holding or calming her down but failed. The problem with countering her actions was that her wounds slightly opened, causing a trickle of blood to run down her arms.

He _hated_ blood!

"Ryuzaki!"

He wasn't sure what happened afterwards but he was whisked by someone, probably Fuji, as the doctor on shift took nurses to work on Ryuzaki's fit.

"Masaharu, are you alright?"

Fuji's bright blue eyes, full of anger and concern, looked straight into his green ones. He thought Niou did something, didn't he? As much as Niou wanted to punch him for thinking he would harm Ryuzaki, he realized that she _had_ been harmed because of him.

Everything Yamamoto was doing was to taunt him, to get to him. Regrettably, it was working now.

"I'm fine."

He pushed Fuji away, propped his elbows on his knees and rested his face on his flattened palms. This was getting ridiculous. He didn't even care if Fuji was seeing him like this.

"She'll be staying with Tezuka once released. Staying here takes away control we would've liked. Anyone can come in and do as they like, despite having division members keep watch."

Niou thought that was the best yet the worse idea he had ever heard. It would be a twenty-four hour job and that _really_ induced stress on an individual, leading to crucial mistakes.

"You're using her as bait."

Fuji stayed silent a moment longer than Niou would've liked.

He glared at the brown haired man, who stared right back at him. "You may not like this but it is the fastest way to reach Yamamoto. She's set her sights on Sakuno-chan."

"And what if she gets injured _again_ while this trap is in effect?"

"It's a high risk, yes, but one we must take for the sake of society."

"…Are you listening to yourself? This is your assistant, the woman you treated so well and defended. Her life isn't important?"

"One life doesn't outweigh that of many others."

"Or it doesn't outweigh yours."

"We have gotten where we are because of what we've done, our jobs require it. For the both of us to point at one another is hypocritical on both of our parts. No, I am not above certain methodologies to do what is right for the general population. My personal thoughts do not matter."

He couldn't hold back anymore – Niou stood up slowly, took a deep breath then focused his energy to punch Fuji as hard as possible in the face. Annoyingly enough, he didn't retaliate.

"I wanted to let you know she's stable now."

A nurse suddenly came outside the room and informed the two of the situation. They weren't entirely sure what happened but they noticed Sakuno's heart rate had quickened too much during the visit and this might have stressed her physically.

"I'm going to stay with Tezuka too."

Niou, not caring to apologize, said and watched the nurse walk away.

"That would be unwise."

"We'll see, won't we? I want to interview the receptionist at the office."

Fuji nodded then returned to the room to bid his farewell to Sakuno. Niou returned to his seat and waited for Fuji.

Yes, lawyers did what was needed to win a case. He never indulged in illegal activity but he did work around the law when the occasion called for it. Listening to Fuji explain his perspective angered him considerably.

'_Don't ignore the feelings that are starting to form, Niou.'_

No, he wasn't angry because he was 'forming feelings' for Ryuzaki. He was angry because Fuji's ethics were revealed. The brown haired man had absolutely no right playing around with lives, no one did. Whilst Niou could be ruthless in his methods, he still had respect for the people he dealt with. They were not objectives for him to play with nor were they beneath their feet.

No, he was _not_ angry for _personal_ reasons – it was purely a question of ethics.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Another 5 more chapters to go...and I'll be done. I'm not sure who's picked up on this but throughout, I've made references of them attending high school together. I've written a prequel that gives a better idea of why Niou & Sakuno's relationship is too so trained. Check it out for an explanation!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.

* * *

><p>If there were two things in the world Yamamoto Akiko despised then the world would be a safer place. Among the never ending list were children. She hated them. Once upon a time she had a strong desire to start a family but the only time such a feeling arose was when she was with <em>him<em>.

The high school days they spent together were sensational. His passion was in tennis yet he exchanged meaningful glances with her on numerous occasions. The first time she would never forget.

He was training to become a famous athlete and she had no such ambition in her life. She was the clan's heir and had been in training for many years although there was no excitement in such a lifestyle. Drugs here, blackmail there – it was extraordinarily boring.

And then he came into her life during a school trip to Germany. If she hadn't taken a shortcut to the hotel, she wouldn't have come across the tennis court and she wouldn't have fallen in love.

Yes, they were both in love. They both wanted to start a family but life threw them onto different paths. They were one another's greatest enemy now.

So perhaps she would've had tolerance for children had she any of her own. As the child hostage continuously cried, she thought to teach it consequences of tears. Before disciplining the child, its father had to bear witness to the punishment of disobedience...

She smiled. It was not time yet to do as she pleased. With a nod from her, the guard released it and both parent and child were momentarily reunited. She decided to allow them the night to themselves before continuing with them.

* * *

><p>"Is there anything you need?"<p>

Sakuno turned her gaze away from the window overlooking Tezuka's garden and towards her host. He came in holding a tray, supporting two teacups and a teapot – just what she needed.

"Nothing at the moment, Tezuka-san."

She gently smiled and accepted the cup of tea offered to her. He took a seat at the end of the bed and stared at her. Although they were not close in relation, Sakuno knew enough about her past upperclassman to understand conversing was not a skill which came easily to him.

"Is it okay if we…spoke about happened in the past week?"

Sakuno asked. Many events occurred in the last week such as her relocation from the hospital and Sumire's entry into a witness protection program. All of this occurred without an explanation. It eased the worry that her grandmother would be okay – after all, the older woman wasn't getting any younger and too much excitement could give her a heart attack. Sakuno trusted the men who were organizing everything so she decided not to make a fuss at the time.

Presently, four days after the relocation, her wounds were healing at a good pace but it was slightly uncomfortable as her skin itched time to time. Her body was sore but it was a feeling she welcomed after the tremendous pain she underwent when the accident occurred.

"I wouldn't mind – I understand that all of this may be confusing."

She nodded and sipped her tea, waiting anxiously for the explanation.

"This woman who is after you has…a troubled past. She is the heir to her father's work. Years ago, Niou & Fuji collaborated to seal her away for an elongated period of time and were successful.

"Unfortunately, the duration of the trial was long and violent. Family members became involved in a war they did not ask for. Following the imprisonment of Yamamoto, there was competition amongst other lesser gangs."

Sakuno, slightly surprised Tezuka was speaking so much, paid special attention to how he said Yamamoto's name. There was a slight raise in emotion…but she could've been wrong.

"This woman is prideful as well as vengeful. After escaping prison, she chose Niou as her target of revenge, which is where you come in, Ryuzaki. The day you visited Osaka, there was a file in your hand. Where did you receive this file from?"

Tezuka placed his teacup on the desk then returned his gaze on her, intent on leaving the room with an answer.

"U-um, I think - but please do not quote me on this as I am not completely sure - I picked it up when the receptionist in the office rushed by me. It was dropped and I did intend to give it to her but I completely forgot about it until Niou-san phoned about it."

Tezuka stared at her for a while longer before nodding. "That is all I needed to know."

He stood, intending to leave the room but she wasn't satisfied just yet.

"A-ano, Tezuka-san, there are a few more questions I had…"

He paused then sat down again, waiting for her to ask.

"I do appreciate what you've done for my grandmother and I but…why you did you decide to take me into your home? Am I not a target anymore?"

Many moments passed which caused her heartbeat to accelerate. Was that a bad question? If she was still being watched, then being around her would be dangerous, right?

"Whether you are or not, it is unknown. To be on the safe side, I will be watching over you. Once we determine that everything is clear, you may return home."

"…Again, I really appreciate what you are doing for me, Tezuka-san and I sincerely hope you do not take this the wrong way…but why are you, the chief officer, doing this? Surely having an officer stationed outside my home would have sufficed?"

"…Ryuzaki, I owe your grandmother a lot. She is a significant factor of who I am today and to directly supervise you is the least I can do for her sake."

They stared at each other. Her instincts told her there was more to everything but it would take time for him to share the reason with her. Or perhaps, he couldn't for reasons of confidentiality.

He excused himself and soon, she was left alone to ponder about her situation and what the next few days were going to be like.

Soon, day turned to dusk then dusk to night. Tezuka was a wonderful host and looked after her every need. They conversed on lighter topics and she learned quite a bit about him. After dinner, she was feeling significantly weak and Tezuka assisted her into bed.

Almost instantly, she fell asleep, losing her mind to the dream world. The dream which came along was odd and colourful in nature and there was an eye staring at her for the duration of the dream without blinking.

Then she had to pee. Fully awake from her slumber, Sakuno glanced at the digital clock to see it was 3 a.m. in the morning. _Fine_ time to use the washroom.

Tezuka had given her a baby monitor to reach him should she need anything during the night. She really didn't want to bother him with this, despite it being difficult to leave the bed by herself.

When she stood and steadied herself, she heard the creaking of the floor. The door was left open to make check-ups on her easier for Tezuka and wouldn't disturb her sleep.

But…he never made a sound when he walked. A chill ran down her spine and her eyes widened. Whoever it was, they were nearing! Did Yamamoto's men break into the house? Was Tezuka okay?!

When the appearance of an unknown male came into view, she almost screamed and fell back onto the bed.

"Oi!"

She scrambled away from the person as he neared and began to yell for Tezuka.

"Shit, stop!"

He lunged towards her and Sakuno almost died of fright. The man's hand covered her mouth and tears streamed down her face – death was upon her. She was _not_ going to live to see tomorrow!

"Sakuno! It's Niou!"

He whispered urgently, hoping to calm her down. Her eyes widened again and she began breathing once more.

Three deep breaths later, Sakuno had somewhat calmed down but her tears did not stop.

"W-what is w-wrong with you?! Why d-did you do that!"

She said between breaths and attempted to hit him. It hurt when she tried and she fell back onto the bed with Niou hovering over her.

"Ah…sorry I scared you…"

"You did more than that you stupid jerk!"

She covered her face with her hands and sobbed quietly, hoping Tezuka hadn't been woken.

Since her body and mind were stabilizing to a normal condition, she didn't notice when he lay next to her or when he tugged her to rest against his chest – gently of course, the last thing he'd want is Tezuka rushing into the room due to her shrieks.

As her body relaxed from stiffness, he quietly apologized repeatedly and stroked her hair, not sure if it was doing any good but thought it better than doing absolutely nothing while she dried her tears. That would be much more awkward, in his opinion.

Eventually, she stopped crying and all was quiet for too long a time. Although Niou had never felt more at peace than he did at this moment, he knew there were questions to answer especially if she noticed that he wasn't wearing anything but boxers.

Hopefully she wouldn't.

"…Why are you here…?"

He stopped playing with her hair. "I wanted to be here."

"…Is it because you feel guilty about what happened?"

"…Yes." He felt unsatisfied with his answer but there wasn't a way he could describe _why else_ he was there.

"Niou-san, everything that has happened, I never blamed them happening because of you. Everything has been really bad timing, I suppose."

No, all of this was planned. Ever since the time he and Yamamoto attended high school together, they had constantly attempted to get on the other's nerves. It was a challenge everyday – whose rage would be the first to show?

This hatred of one another carried into their adulthood. When her case searched for a prosecutor, he almost smiled at the opportunity. No, he wasn't a representative of the government and worked for a private firm but her reputation called for a lawyer who wasn't afraid of her power. It was this case that brought the reputation of the company to an entirely new competitive level. After all, what other firm would have the courage to stand against the Yamamoto family?

But all of this seemed too complicated to explain to the girl – no, _woman_ next to him. Yes, she had developed fully physically but there was something about her that implored him to be protective…but hiding things from her led to _this_ misfortune.

"No, Ryuzaki. That bitch has had it in for me since the time we were teens."

"Since teens…?"

"We all attended the same high school."

This fact took her by surprise and slowly it settled into her mind. "But there wasn't a 'Yamamoto' that I remember…"

"Her name then was Shinagawa Reiko. She was placed in a regular high school for recruitment purposes so it was imperative they hid her identity."

She gasped. "Oh goodness, I do remember her. She was intimidating! My friends and I would never go to the southern part of the soccer field at school. There was always a sense of dread that would pass through us every time we went somewhat near. That was her corner…"

Sakuno closed her eyes; memories floated through her mind until she reached a particular scene – a memory of Yamamoto and Niou standing close to one other and talking. It was a memory she had long forgotten – why, she wasn't sure. Unfortunately, there was a conclusion forming in her mind she did not favour.

Pushing those thoughts aside, her concentration returned to Niou and the situation at hand. There wasn't much she could assist with but maybe, just maybe her input could help.

"What happens now? I've already asked Tezuka-san and he said I was going to stay here until everything was safe…but everything seems so vague. I don't want to burden Tezuka-san anymore."

When she shivered, he reached over to pull the blanket over both of them. She hadn't said anything yet in regards to him on her bed so maybe she wouldn't mind having him here tonight - the soft bed was more comfortable than the old couch.

"Everything is in limbo, Ryuzaki. There are strategies in place which we can only hope will work. The resources Yamamoto has at her side is incredible in number. The idea is to find a solution to bypass them and that's fucking difficult."

Earlier in the day, when Fuji confirmed Ryuzaki's move to Tezuka's home, the unsettling feeling Niou had within grew in size. Fuji suggesting Ryuzaki move into Tezuka's home did not sit well with Niou because Fuji would not explain _why_ he wanted her there.

Tezuka almost shut the door in his face when Niou showed up without warning on his doorstep. After an intense stare down, and some talking, Tezuka agreed to allow Niou to stay this particular night, not bothering to ask why he was there which Niou secretly appreciated.

He didn't want to explain to anyone about the worry he felt for Ryuzaki Sakuno. She didn't belong in this mess yet time and time again, he had gotten her involved. Even though she said there wasn't blame on his part, the guilt never disappeared.

"Niou-san, I know this may not be saying much but I have full confidence in you and Fuji-san. Sometimes office workers talk and…to be honest, no one knows about a team that is more intimidating than the both of you..."

Niou smirked to hear that. He wasn't _intending_ to be intimidating but it that's what the people thought, then he wasn't going to argue it. It kept people who would otherwise be a hindrance away.

"You will find a way, you always do, Niou-kun…"

His eyes slightly widened as the sound of that. It had been many years since she was 'informal' with him. That was probably as informal she would ever be with him.

Then, her eyes slowly closed and she quickly drifted into a deep sleep. Niou couldn't avert his eyes – there were so many imperfections on her face, on her body yet his gaze was compelled to stay on her because of the strength she emitted.

Not once had Sakuno complained about her situation nor placed the blame on him. Without a doubt, she was stressed but there wasn't much he could do but stay by her side, alleviating the problems for the night.

Eventually fatigue washed over him and he drifted to sleep as well, unknowingly placing his hand over hers.

Outside the room, Tezuka waited with his back against the hallway wall and arms crossed, until both Niou and Ryuzaki entered deep sleep before walking away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: I would hope Niou isn't too out of character here. Writing the both of them together is a little difficult, especially since they have never had any interaction in show itself.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters.

* * *

><p>"Who are you?"<p>

Sanada looked over his shoulder, identifying the individual who asked the question. Standing in the doorway was someone he hoped had gone with Yamamoto to do their usual evening business, Michael.

For Sanada, it was fairly easy to understand the mindset of the Japanese people since he grew up with them being the ninety percent of the demographics in the area. Motives were easier to track and cultural differences weren't an obstacle for the cases he normally worked.

The most challenging aspect of this particular case was Yamamoto's willingness to allow foreigners into her gang. This hindered Sanada's pace tremendously as he first had to know the ethnicity of the member, and simply asking an individual would lead to suspicion, and then the cultural differences became a challenge for him.

In this case, Michael was from America but his features didn't indicate traditional American features. His skin was darker, tones somewhat alike to orange-brown, his eyes were dark and his hair was black. Although his citizenship was American, Sanada was sure he lived in another country prior as his English was accented.

Sanada had a difficult time analyzing the man's personality as he barely spoke but there was a strong aura emitted from him. He was a man to be cautious of as Sanada suspected Michael had been watching him from the beginning.

"You know who I am, Michael."

"And you know what I mean."

The American stared at him, wanting answers that Sanada would and could not give. In comparison to the other underlings of Yamamoto, he was dangerous. The others did not think for themselves, merely acted upon orders.

"Do we have a problem?" Sanada asked. And if they did, it couldn't come at a worse time. He was looking through files in the office Yamamoto had surprisingly forgotten to lock. They had received an alert about a rival gang on their property so he could see why she would be messy.

He was left behind since she didn't want him to be 'revealed' as her inside man to the police should there be escalated conflict. Psych, he wasn't her inside man and this was the opportunity he was looking for.

Tezuka wanted some evidence for murders she committed prior to and following her escape. It was necessary.

Sanada miscalculated the threats. This showed Yamamoto did not trust him completely. In a way, he was annoyed since he made the effort to physically please her. It was all for nil, it seemed.

"We always had a problem."

Michael pulled a gun from behind his back and aimed at him. Sanada knew there wouldn't be enough time for him to reach for his weapon. They inched around one another, maintaining eye contact.

In a mere moment, all of his painstaking efforts on this case went down the drain.

* * *

><p>The sun's illuminate rays woke Sakuno the next morning. Time passed as she adjusted to the environment, realizing she was not in her home but in a guest room in Tezuka's home.<p>

Confusion passed in her mind since she hadn't taken her medication prior to sleeping yet it was the best sleep she had in a very long time. Subconsciously, she placed a hand to the empty space next to her. It was still warm, meaning Niou _did_ spend the night with her.

And she was alright with it.

Oh gosh, how did this change of heart happen? It was only a week or so ago that both of them didn't like one another. Now they were sharing a bed…she blushed. She wasn't properly dressed and neither was he.

Oh gosh, oh gosh. Her face burned with embarrassment.

It was a scenario in her mind she wished for many, many years ago when she was young. But that train of thought died when she caught Yamamoto, or Shinagawa at the time, and Niou together. That was when she taught herself to stop caring for her senpai, the man who she wasted her affections on.

Yes…it was a memory forgotten and it was time she finally admitted to have feelings for Niou in high school. But she was mature enough to respect herself when he showed nothing in return and moved on. A man like that couldn't be worth her time; she learned from her past with Ryoma, a boy who cared only for tennis and nothing else.

So then…did she still have feelings for Niou somewhere within?

These suppressed feelings were emerging against her will. Desire pushed her mind to want Niou staying the nigh because of affections but it wasn't the reason. It was something beyond guilt which held him to her but it was not affection.

"Are you awake?" Sakuno blinked multiple times as she processed the knock and Tezuka's question.

"G-good morning, Tezuka-san." Hopefully they weren't loud last night…

"Good morning. I made breakfast. Did you need assistance with anything?"

"I think I'll be okay, thank you."

"I'll wait for you downstairs."

"Oh…um…never mind." The events of last night were on the tip of her tongue, about to be formed into words but perhaps it wasn't appropriate in more than one way.

Tezuka assumed she was conflicted about speaking about Niou's visit. A conservative woman such as Ryuzaki would have trouble voicing such things as it would be…uncustomary. He left her to think and descended the stairs.

A wave of confusion passed through him when finding Fuji sitting in the kitchen but it subsided when he realized it wasn't Fuji but Niou. He had Fuji's mannerisms almost perfected but the illusion was weakened by the smile. Niou could not imitate Fuji's true smile.

"This is considered trespassing, Niou. I asked you to leave when the sun rose."

"Clever and don't be such a hard ass. I'm not getting answers."

"Attempting to imitate Fuji's persona did not strengthen your cause. If anything, it's been weakened."

Tezuka, reaching for two glasses and plates, could feel Niou's eyes on his back. That lawyer could do and say whatever he wanted. Fuji never had any luck retrieving any information from him and neither would Niou.

"I'm the wrong person to speak with. This is the last time I'll ask you to leave my property."

"I'm not leaving. Why did you agree with Fuji to use Ryuzaki?"

Tezuka silently sighed. Dealing with Niou and Fuji could be such a headache. In regards to professional matters, it was Niou who he saw more often since his speciality was criminals. It was frustrating to see those guilty of treacherous crimes leave the courthouse as free men because Niou worked their case.

Unfortunately it was a grudge that couldn't be held since Niou had taken an oath to represent to the best of his ability. Whether it was a good thing or not was debatable but Niou was letting his professionalism be affected by his personal feelings.

It was definitely a nuisance to Tezuka.

"It's been said more than twice. She's here for precaution's sake. I understand it's not my business to say anything but I would suggest refraining your personal feelings for her affect your judgement. Men in our unique positions cannot allow this to happen at this crucial point in time."

He placed the glassware on the table. Niou narrowed his eyes.

"Preaching about personal feelings when it's _your_ _affections_ for Yamamoto holding this investigation behind seems hypocritical, no? Don't deny it."

This was the first time Tezuka witnessed Niou's usual objective demeanour falter and it was also the first time he almost gave into his anger. He watched as Niou left his home and closed his eyes, feeling a headache coming soon. It was unfortunate Niou had fallen into position in Fuji's plan.

It was also a real shame that Ryuzaki, who had made it down the stairs, was listening to the majority of the conversation. Although he wanted to clarify many points, Tezuka pretended he hadn't noticed. She would need time to process everything

But they would talk, they had to. Even though he trusted Fuji with his life, Tezuka didn't trust him when others were involved. She needed to be reassured that he wouldn't allow Fuji free reign of her.

It was his job to protect innocent citizens from crime and in his books, manipulation was a crime.

* * *

><p>Sanada's arm twitched and bled.<p>

He kept looking over his shoulder as he crept along the alleyway. It was hard to keep walking. Michael disappeared from his sight long ago but not before four bullets were sunk into his arm and shoulder.

His vision was starting to blur with the extreme amount of blood and stamina loss. Before running for his life, he had picked up two files and a usb which were full of evidence on Yamamoto – her targets, her accomplices as well as where the next weapons trade would be. Vital information.

"Hey bitch!"

Sanada turned and a bullet tore through his chest. The darkness came too fast.

* * *

><p>'<em>I promise that to the best of my ability, I will keep you safe.'<em>

The biggest weakness of hers was placing too much faith in people. It always ruined her and now, there was so much deceit. Her instinct told her to question more but she hadn't wanted to push too much.

She actually thought Niou, Tezuka and Fuji had begun to care for her, which was why they were being so nice. It was such a naïve thought.

After finishing an awkward breakfast with Tezuka, she excused herself to the bedroom and shut the door so very quietly. Her legs couldn't support her anymore and she slid down the door, back against it and sitting with her knees drawn to her chest.

She sat there for some time, ignoring Tezuka when he asked if she needed anything, when he asked her if she wanted lunch and when he told her he had to leave for the office.

Instead of focusing on reality and the gorgeous day, her thoughts revolved around Fuji, the man she placed the most trust in.

Ever since she applied to the firm, he had watched over her, educating her in legal matters as well as the human psyche. They had a special relationship…or so she believed.

As the tennis coach's granddaughter, she was given insight by her grandmother. She observed his metamorphosis from middle school to now. Fuji was…much more isolated, cold, someone who believed in the bigger cause and was extremely objective. His only weakness being his little brother; he loved Fuji Yuuta like no other.

But anyone who wasn't Yuuta was dispensable for his objective and her heart plunged into a deep pit inside of her body. She was in the process of being exploited.

'_I promise that to the best of my ability, I will keep you safe.'_

She couldn't stay here anymore, not with all these lies around her. Why was she moved to Tezuka's home? Why did Niou stay the night? Why was she involved in the first place? All of these questions involved Fuji somehow and perhaps that was her bias. But it didn't matter.

How foolish of her to hope Niou stayed with her because of his _feelings_. No, he stayed to observe Fuji's plan.

These officers stationed around the house were meant to protect her and stop strangers from entering the property, or so she was told. She could've been truly safe had she stayed with Sumire and shifted locations with her.

Maybe it was the blood of the dragon she was named after awakening in her because Sakuno refused to be handled as bait and formed a strong resolve.

There were three things she needed: two phone numbers, a laptop and confirmation.

* * *

><p>It had been quite some time since Fuji heard from Sakuno but it was a pleasure nonetheless when she called him.<p>

"Sakuno-chan, how are you feeling?" He took note of Niou's subtle change of attention and chuckled.

"_I'm feeling much better, thank you. Tezuka-san has been helping considerably. Fuji-senpai, I've been feeling confused as of late so I was wondering if you could clarify a couple of matters?"_

Fuji frowned at the professional tone Sakuno used, not familiar with it.

"Yes, what seems to be troubling you?"

"_I'm wondering how secure the witness protection program is. I'm very worried for obaachan."_

"It's the most secure program the government has to offer since witnesses are top priority for any case. We wouldn't want the wrong people finding them. Only two people would know where a participant is in the country: the Director of the program and the agent handling the case. Your grandmother is completely safe."

"_Okay…I was also concerned about the number of officers that are stationed here could be helping others instead of constantly being on guard for me. Tezuka-san won't hear otherwise but…I still can't help but wonder if I'm wasting resources._"

"Nonsense, your safety is first priority for Tezuka and I. Having this many officers would ensure the bad guys wouldn't make it through the gates."

"…_And would these bad people be able to see the officers from afar?_"

Fuji hesitated to answer, not entirely sure what Sakuno wanted him to say or why she'd be asking.

"They try their best to blend in."

"_Okay, that's all I was curious about. Thank you, Fuji-senpai."_

He chuckled. "Of course, anytime. Niou-kun is here with me as well, did you want to talk to him?"

Instead of a coherent answer, he heard stammering and stutters. Niou, on the other hand, froze for a brief second before resuming his work. Fuji smiled, said his goodbye and ended the call.

"All of this is going to backfire, Fuji."

Fuji continued typing his correspondence to the plaintiff of a prior case.

"Why the sudden outright hostility, Niou? You tend to be more subtle with distain towards me."

"Seeing the extent of your ambition disturbs me. You would manipulate an innocent who trusts you more than anyone else. Everything you want to happen won't and you'll lose more than you wanted to."

Instead of thinking about Niou possibly accurate prediction, his thoughts lingered on how much he was speaking nowadays. The threads of his guard were beginning to unravel. How strange since he disliked the source of his eroding walls a mere week ago.

"If that is the consequence of providing safety to those I care for, then I'm happy to face it. Manipulation is not a strange concept to the both of us, Niou. Keep that in mind."

"I never manipulated an innocent individual, Fuji. You're pushing Ryuzaki towards her death."

Niou snarled and Fuji stopped working. There was rage in those green eyes of Niou's, waiting to be unleashed. It was time to tread carefully otherwise it would be a repetition of five years ago. He was over exaggerating, Ryuzaki was _not_ going to die because of all this.

"Sakuno-chan will not die. I can assure you this. Her well being is my utmost concern." Fuji tried to keep his tone neutral, devoid of emotion and unfortunately, it triggered Niou's wrath. His hands slid across the desk and everything in its path was thrown to the floor, including his laptop.

"How the fuck can you _assure_ this?! You're a fucking lawyer, _not_ a damn psychic! If _anything_ happens to her, I will rip you apart, Fuji Syusuke."

The threat was too direct, breaking the persona of 'Niou' Fuji had come to respect. If anything, it set a slight shiver down his spine – Niou was someone he preferred as an ally.

Niou stormed out of the office and presumably out of the building. Fuji sighed then regained his composure, smiling at his colleagues, all of who looking into the office, obviously curious about the disturbance in routine.

"Looks like someone's in a bad mood."

* * *

><p>She allowed only one tear drop to fall, allowed her resolve to weaken for just a moment. Everything was confirmed; she was being wrapped as a welcome present to Yamamoto and those wrappings became more extravagant the longer she stayed here.<p>

After fighting away the feelings of uselessness and self-pity following breakfast, Sakuno found Tezuka's laptop. Luckily it wasn't locked and five hours passed as she researched Yamamoto. The older woman was a very twisted individual.

She was directly responsible for over one hundred deaths, ranging from within her gang to random street shootings. In addition to murders, she was believed to run a human trafficking ring, doing business with only the richest. The most awful part was that she recruited from high school and rumoured to kidnap young children for future careers amongst her circle or for other purposes.

Sakuno couldn't read anymore since there were gruesome pictures accompanying Yamamoto's profile she found on Tezuka's computer as well as the articles available online. How could she be so ignorant to all of these events?

Following the initial information, Sakuno researched the events of five years ago. She learned more about Niou's involvement and pieced together a timeline as well as motives. After half an hour, Sakuno concluded the reason why Yamamoto targeted Niou specifically was because of their high school rivalry and that Niou was _the_ lawyer to put her away despite Fuji being just as involved.

Yamamoto was Niou's case. That's why his siblings became involved and why Niou had been admitted to the hospital on more than one occasion. Fuji must have taken precautions before completely involving himself with the case.

This shocked Sakuno since Niou was _always_ twenty steps ahead of his opponents, _always_.

A week or so ago, surely Yamamoto's members would know what she wanted. Revenge was a strong source of motivation and they must have researched. Fuji and Niou must have learned about her escape the next day, which is why the President had visited their office.

She was the only link to Fuji and Niou since they kept themselves isolated from others. Niou would have his tedious work done by various people instead of a sole assistant and Fuji hired her.

As she thought, Sakuno wrote all of this on a notebook, trying to make her thoughts as clear as possible. But things must not have gone accordingly since an attempt on her life was made, meaning they didn't need her anymore.

Oh God, was she being used as a bargaining chip? That was the only conclusion she could think of. Again, she was a link to Fuji, automatically becoming one to Niou as well.

What if Yamamoto was confused about Niou's motives to protect her? Sakuno sure was…

If what Niou said was true, about Tezuka's personal feelings, then the officer would be more than willing to use her as well. Such strong emotions made people do strange things so he would do what he could to see her again, right?

Sakuno couldn't let this happen, she had much more respect for herself than that.

As quickly as possible, she returned to her room, changed and gathered her things into her bag. Her russet eyes fell onto the bed, specifically the spot where Niou slept. Sitting on the bed, she placed a hand on the pillow he used…

Yes, somewhere in her heart, she had feelings for him. Whether those feelings were suppressed from high school of an old Niou or were new ones formed recently, she wasn't sure. Surely it wasn't love and hopefully it never would be.

Sakuno reached for her phone and looked at the last text he had sent her. It was the day she realized she was being followed. It was the only time he texted her and ended with a smiley face too.

She smiled softly. Oh Niou…an urge to speak with him plagued her but it wasn't possible. He was being typical Niou, strategizing the best way to ruin Yamamoto. It was time to leave him behind forever.

* * *

><p>"Who's watching Ryuzaki?"<p>

He asked, his tone stern and cold. Waiting for the end of Sanada's surgery was placing an extraordinarily large amount of stress on him. Niou hadn't expected a call from the hospital, notifying that Sanada was fighting for his life.

Nor did he expect both Fuji and Tezuka to join him in the lounge. Sure, the latter was Sanada's boss but it was close to midnight and he wasn't at home with Ryuzaki.

"The officers are with her."

Although his conduct showed differently, Tezuka was dealing with high levels of stress. His best officer was in surgery and the chances were not in their favour. He received two files and a USB drive from a nurse, which he sent to the office to be deciphered. They would need that evidence. Regrettably, Sanada protected it with his life.

And he did not have time to deal with Niou's anxiety with Ryuzaki nor was he going to admit he hadn't been home since early afternoon. They never had the talk he wanted but it was the first thing they were going to talk about in the morning, after all of this came to an end.

His phone beeped. Glares were thrown his way by the staff and he ignored them, instead focusing on the message from, surprisingly, Ryuzaki. Perhaps he didn't hide his shock well enough because Niou, who probably glanced over his shoulder, was swearing and punching the wall.

Fuji's eyes were widened in surprise as well, a reaction Tezuka wasn't expecting.

'_Tezuka-san, thank you very much for the care you've given me. My recovery has been without hurdles due to your patience. I'm writing to you to say I'm sorry, sorry that I cannot be a pawn in this game you three have been playing. Good bye and best of luck capturing Yamamoto.'_

"You bastards! What the _fuck_ happened?!"

Tezuka and Fuji didn't answer; instead the former looked at the latter. He told Fuji it was not right to use Ryuzaki as a lure for Yamamoto yet the lawyer persisted and Tezuka agreed. It was the stupidest decision ever made and now she was in the city, vulnerable to attacks by Yamamoto.

Niou punched the wall again in frustration then left the building to call her. He tried thrice and she didn't answer. Finally, the fourth time she answered.

"Ryuzaki! Where the hell are you? Get back to Tezuka's house!"

"…_Please don't, Niou-san. Please don't give me orders. I'm neither your subordinate nor your servant."_

Niou growled, his frustration hitting its peak. "Pride doesn't matter right now! I'm saying this for you safety, go back to Tezuka's!"

"_My safety? P-please don't yell at me. If anything, I should be the ones to be a-angry. It was naïve to think the three of you actually c-cared for my wellbeing…that you cared for me…I hate you, Masaharu. You lied to me."_

Every fibre of his being shuddered. All his anger disintegrated and for the first time in years, Niou felt empty. He almost dropped his phone but he couldn't stop listening to her muffled cries. She was distressed; she didn't mean to say that. No, she didn't.

"Ryuzaki…I never lied to you. Please, please come back."

His voice was almost a whisper. They both didn't say anything to one another for at least ten minutes which was ample time for Fuji and Tezuka to become curious of his whereabouts, search for him then stand a few feet behind him.

"…_I can't, I ca-"_

Her voice was replaced by shuffling and a stifled scream.

"Ryuzaki? Ryuzaki?!"

All three men looked at each other, all hoping their dreadful presumption was wrong.

"Ma-sa-ha-ru-kun, it's been awhile, babe. Put me on speaker, I want to say hi to the other two."

"Wench, where's Ryuzaki?!" Niou looked around, seeming like a madman, at all possible places where Yamamoto's men might have been hiding. He scanned the rooftops of buildings, the parking lots and found no one.

"Speaker, babe."

He bit back his retort and put the woman on speaker. "Good evening gentlemen. A little careless with the goods, weren't we? First San-chan and now this little flower escapes your grasp? I'm almost ashamed you three put me away five years ago."

"She's to be unharmed." Tezuka ordered, already contacting the right people for kidnapping cases.

"Depends on what you have to offer, Kuni-kun."

"…Who do you want?"

Niou asked and shifted his eyes towards Fuji, watching him akin to a lioness watches an antelope.

"Hmmmmm, I'll think about it. This poor girl's been locked up with only men around. I think we should spend some time together, no? Bye for now, boys~"

At nearly a neck breaking speed, Niou lunged for Fuji.

* * *

><p><strong>Lily:<strong> This was the most difficult chapter to write. I'm sure there were many OoC moments but alas, it had to be done. Revising 3 versions was pushing it.

And as always, thank you very much for the reviews! I appreciate them incredibly so and as I have state in other fandoms, I tend not to reply in fear of discussing the story too much and spoiling it. Please know that I appreciate the efforts of reviewers! Cheers!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. Yamamoto is my original creation.

* * *

><p>Two women, one a head taller than the other, sat on a queen's sized bed. Each girl's hair was tied in a messy yet fashionable bun and perfect make-up had been applied. They seemed to the innocent eye as best friends giving one another a make-over.<p>

But _only _to the innocent eye.

Although it was difficult to apply the lipstick to the trembling young woman in front of her, Yamamoto felt nothing but budding excitement. Aside from the slight shaking, Sakuno was being an ideal model as she finished her make-over.

"Gorgeous women seem to be Masaharu-kun's type, not ones resembling high school students! What a perv, neh?"

She smiled at Sakuno, who looked away to the side and finally mustered the courage to mumble something. Yamamoto raised an eyebrow.

"What was that, Sa-chan?" She lifted Sakuno's face with a finger and they made eye contact. She loved seeing fear in those russet eyes.

"H-he…doesn't l-like me i-in that w-way…"

Then a tinge of sadness appeared in those eyes that reminded Yamamoto of her heartbreak with Tezuka.

"Is that right? Poor Sa-chan, you're so stupid."

The woman looked away again.

"Masaharu-kun wouldn't waste his time with someone like you unless he had a certain fondness for you, ya know? It's almost cute."

Aw, Sakuno seemed to be getting more distraught by her words. How heartbreaking. Yamamoto smiled and did something she knew Niou would _hate_. She rubbed Sakuno's thighs then slid her hands up her hips, her waist, her breasts then finally her cheeks, forcing the younger woman to look her in the eyes.

"Don't worry, Sa-chan, we'll make Masaharu-kun regret the way he treated you. Do you know what he'll find when he comes looking for you?"

She brushed her lips against Sakuno's ear and whispered, "A beautiful corpse."

Sakuno became rigid Yamamoto laughed. She tucked a strand behind her ear then leaned close to the other's lips.

"Have you ever been kissed before, Sa-chan?"

* * *

><p>What Sanada would've liked to hear when he woke were two things: Michael had been caught and squads were already on their way to Yamamoto's base to arrest her based on the evidence he managed to steal.<p>

He was _not_ expecting to see two men, who were considered the most exhausting to deal with in the courts, to be injured. The cuts and bruises on Fuji and Niou's face was not a welcome sight in anyway, especially since they hadn't taken care of them.

His eyes were transfixed on them. No one said anything and when Sanada finally managed to get his voice to work, he nearly croaked his words.

"The hell happened to you two?"

"A misunderstanding." Fuji replied with a half smile. "It's a relief the surgery was successful."

Sanada's gaze slid towards Niou, who was standing against the wall with his arms crossed. There was a cut above his eye that seemed to still be bleeding. Tezuka sat on the other side of the bed, silent. The look in his eyes alerted Sanada that something was not right.

"What happened?"

"Ryuzaki's been kidnapped."

"…"

When he heard about the plan about using Ryuzaki, he knew it was a terrible idea. Using a civilian to bait an unpredictable criminal was never a good idea, never. He didn't hear of any plans for Ryuzaki's kidnapping, just her death, during his time with them so he wondered if Yamamoto kept it from him or if it was spontaneous.

Oh, wait. Niou and Fuji's injuries made a lot more sense now. Niou's personal feelings – Niou could lie to himself and others as much as he wanted to he _was_ developing feelings for Ryuzaki – must have affected his judgement, thus the fight with Fuji. It was Fuji's idea in the first place.

So much for resting. His brain was working at five times the speed now that he learned Ryuzaki had been taken. How the hell did that even happen?

"I'll deal with it. You rest – you'll be needed later. There are two officers stationed outside of your room, for precaution."

Sanada almost smirked at Tezuka's attitude but instead responded with a nod. He hoped her grandmother didn't know because he couldn't deal with another hospital trip. He could barely keep his eyes open. The three men left the room with Niou looking over his shoulder at him. He closed his eyes, drifting into sleep and faintly heard Fuji calling out to Niou.

"Niou, I-"

"Not a word, Fuji."

Niou walked towards the exit, not bothering to look at the other two. Tezuka assumed he needed fresh air to process the commotion and overcome the shock.

"This wasn't supposed to happen."

He looked at Fuji, slightly surprised to hear his confidence wavering.

"She was supposed to be safe in your home when they came for her. Yamamoto was supposed to be arrested tonight or tomorrow night at the latest. Sakuno would've been under your watch the entire time. N-nothing was supposed to happen to endanger her life."

It was the first time Tezuka witnessed his long time friend trying to convince himself of anything. There had always been a worry in the back of his mind that Fuji was slowly turning into a person similar to Yamamoto.

When he wanted to use Ryuzaki without her knowledge, it was surprising but more so when the plan was fully explained. How could Fuji use someone like that so easily? Especially his own assistant?

Slowly, Fuji had started to replace Yamamoto in his mind but this…confession right here, it proved that Fuji's humanity was still intact. The guilt he was feeling ensured that Fuji was still capable of being an empathetic man, not completely manipulative.

Thank God.

"I assured Niou she wouldn't die…he kept saying everything would backfire on me…"

Alright, guilt was fine but a mental breakdown was not, not now. Before Fuji could slip into a true breakdown, Tezuka corrected him.

"It's not fact she will die, Fuji. Right now, she's been taken for Yamamoto's amusement. We're working with this right now,_ not_ a confirmed death."

Fuji merely looked at him with fatigued eyes.

* * *

><p>Sakuno sat on the corner of the bed with her knees drawn. Every once in awhile, she would hear someone walk by the bedroom and every time, she panicked and hugged her knees tighter.<p>

She wished with every inch of her being that Yamamoto would not return. The older woman left her two hours ago to attend business that someone interrupted them with. She had scowled at the man and he flinched.

But relief washed over her when this man knocked on their door – Yamamoto had less than pure intentions when she pushed her down on the bed. Sakuno shuddered as she remembered the woman's hands caressing her stomach then inching their way up...

By no means was Sakuno a prude but she _did not_ want such an act to happen with a woman, much less Yamamoto! To shut out the realization of what was happening, her mind flittered amongst faces and chose Niou as a replacement for Yamamoto.

It still wasn't pleasant, these non-consensual actions never are, but the raw feeling of fear subsided and that was good enough for her at that very moment.

'_I promise that to the best of my ability, I will keep you safe.'_

Fuji's words repeated in her mind continuously and she felt resentment. Where was Fuji when Yamamoto _touched_ her? Not here. Where was he when Yamamoto debated between methods of killing her? Not here.

He lied to her, he _betrayed_ her.

She yearned to cry but Yamamoto had said punishment awaited those who ruined her efforts. In this case, the woman spent almost an hour on Sakuno's make-up and she didn't want to provide a reason for her to come back.

There was no one to help her anymore – did anyone even _know_ where she was being held!? No, probably not. Then she was completely on her own. The biggest mistake she made was placing her trust in Fuji and she dare not trust Niou and Tezuka.

They were all the same. She could trust no one.

* * *

><p>"Niou, we need to talk."<p>

"No."

"Niou-"

The silver haired man, who was walking towards the firm's parking lot with the intentions of calling a cab, turned to face Fuji.

"Your plan backfired. I told you it would but you still continued. Ryuzaki's been kidnapped and all of this, is your fault. Now screw off, I have a mess to clean." He constantly jabbed Fuji's chest, feeling a satisfaction not present in their previous fight.

Despite it being four in the morning, both men had worked – in different offices, of course – to track where Sakuno was being held.

After confirming Sanada's successful surgery, both lawyers rushed straight to the firm from the hospital, not wanting to waste time to pinpoint a location. Niou analyzed Yamamoto's behaviour and habits from high school and Fuji tracked recent gang activity. When two hours passed, they had a location and Tezuka sent two of his officers to check it out.

They were right. It was heavily guarded but not in an obvious manner. Tezuka's team worked for hours before figuring out a plan of attack – it was a sensitive situation because Sakuno was a hostage. With the evidence Sanada had gathered, it was possible to arrest Yamamoto and her colleagues without breaking any privacy laws.

It was finally time to end everything.

Tezuka ordered them not to come anywhere near the warehouse but that didn't hinder Niou. No one told him what to do.

"…You shouldn't go. Yamamoto knows about your affections."

Niou scowled. "I _simply_ don't want her to be in this situation anymore."

Fuji stared at him with his brilliant blue eyes, almost grinning despite all the tension he and Niou had between them. It was as if he was speaking to a child who didn't want to admit doing anything wrong when he, in fact, did.

"Then you wouldn't mind if Tezuka becomes her saviour. He's become attached to her from the time they spent together."

Nothing needed to be said. Fuji knew all too well what was going through his adversary's mind. Even though the majority of the events taken place tonight caused Fuji to feel incredibly guilty, he felt a slight redemption in pushing his colleague in the right direction.

His phone's ringtone distracted him. The call display read 'Tezuka'.

"Tezuka, any updates?"

"We'll be arriving at the warehouse in 15 minutes. There's been a specialized team sent ahead in order to remove hindrance before negotiations."

"That's good to hear. I'll be there-"

"Stay. Away."

Fuji smile that had formed in the duration of the conversation, wilted. The warning was the point of the call. It was too bad that he didn't take warnings or threats from his comrades too seriously nowadays. Tezuka ended the call.

"What's going on?" Niou asked, silently declaring a truce.

"They're moving in. It'll take me half an hour to get there." He walked past Niou and towards his car. "There's always room for others in my car who don't want to be on the sidelines."

Niou took the opportunity.

* * *

><p>Sakuno stared at the 9 mm pistol on the desk next to the bed. It was the weapon intended to put two bullets in her chest. Her body wouldn't stop shaking.<p>

There were bandages wrapped underneath her chest to prevent too much blood from spilling, Yamamoto had explained, and if she bled too much, it would defy the efforts to make her a beautiful corpse. Right now, that dreadful woman stood at the window, a little ways away from the weapon, looking at the crescent moon.

She was wistful.

"He lied to me."

What? Sakuno slowly turned attention to the older woman.

"He was supposed to return to me after his trip in Germany and we were supposed to live a life free of crime." It was tiny and almost invisible but Yamamoto was grinning. "He wanted to save me."

Was…was she talking about Tezuka?

"This is what he gave me before he left." There was a thin, silver ring on her left hand. Yamamoto wasn't obviously showing it so Sakuno had to squint. There was a small diamond surrounded by two tiny dolphins.

This was a part of her Sakuno didn't know existed. This woman was a murderer, a serial killer. Empathy was said not to exist in these types of people yet…

"W-what…was his name…?"

Yamamoto rolled her eyes towards her and watched her for a bit. She returned her gaze to the moon outside before replying.

"Tezuka Kunimitsu."

Maybe, just maybe words could be used to get out of this situation. It was her last hope.

"…He went to the same high school as me. How did you meet?"

Yamamoto laughed normally, for once. "Through tennis, how else? I bumped into him while he practiced and the months following that day were the best of my life."

She smiled of pure happiness and Sakuno felt a ray of hope for her situation. "Tezuka-san won many tournaments while he was away and-"

Yamamoto scowled. "That bastard left me for his career!" She turned hastily and grabbed the pistol, sitting on the bed next to Sakuno.

"We could've been so good together, don't you think so, Sa-chan?" Yamamoto held her jaw between her thumb and index finger. "But these men, it's always their own selfish desires before the needs of others. Tezuka and I would've had our first child by now and living an honest life…but no, they choose the easy way out."

She scowled and Sakuno yelled when she was thrown on the floor.

"Masaharu-kun has such an interest in you but in my humble opinion, he needs to understand what he lost because of his arrogance."

Yamamoto turned off the safety and pointed the pistol at Sakuno, smiling sadly. "We could have been so good for them, Sa-chan."

Sakuno's eyes widened in fear.

* * *

><p>Niou frowned when he saw the police car lights flashing everywhere, getting brighter as they neared the warehouse.<p>

This was stupid – she was not going to like this. When she didn't like a certain course of action, that wench would use anything that would leverage her situation. Sakuno was the person forcefully standing between them and her.

A terrible aura settled around him and he finally saw Tezuka, who watched them roll behind the perimeter line with a frown. Niou also caught him rubbing his temple from the corner of his eye.

Tezuka ignored them as they came closer, instead, focusing his attention to the walkie-talkie informing him of events occurring throughout the building. Fuji and Niou allowed him some to co-ordinate another method of penetrating the inner walls without killing anyone in the process.

"Has she made contact?" Fuji asked, his eyes on the task force members as they utilized their unique skill set and resources to climb and secure the building. There were some gangsters being brought out in handcuffs, some were perfectly well in health while others were injured.

"No."

Then they waited for someone to give them news of Ryuzaki's sighting or better, her recovery. Too much time had gone by.

And that was when they heard the gun shot. Tezuka's eyes narrowed, Fuji's eyes opened and Niou's widened. Two more shots and Tezuka ran towards the entrance of the building, Fuji and Niou would have too, if they were not blocked by the officers.

So they had to play the waiting game as multiple gun shots from different parts of the building were heard.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: This was the most difficult chapter to write so far. By the way, as the story progresses, I need a beta reader for characterization, one who is not afraid to be harsh with criticism and so if you are one or if you know someone, please PM me :)

Cheers!


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. Original characters, not mentioned in the manga or anime, are my creation.

* * *

><p>In Niou's opinion, what transpired in the past two hours was obviously criminal in nature therefore falling under his jurisdiction, so to speak. And because of this, he was not going to leave Ryuzaki Sakuno's side during the interrogation.<p>

"Ryuzaki, we need to understand what occurred in that room last night to proceed. Again, what happened?"

Tezuka asked gently. Across from him sat a very shocked, dejected and frightened Ryuzaki Sakuno. She didn't make a sound but instead, was looking at the table. It was unclear whether or not she was listening to anyone at all.

Niou and Tezuka exchanged glances. They needed to know how three bullets, two square in the chest and one just a few centimeters away from her spinal cord, had gotten into Yamamoto. They were waiting for an affirmation if those fingerprints on the pistol were Ryuzaki's and whether or not that was the weapon used to injure Yamamoto.

The main problem was _if_ Ryuzaki pulled the trigger, there was more than one bullet indicating that it wasn't just self-defence and if Yamamoto did not survive the surgery, then it would be considered a murder.

Niou's hopes were in favour of the wench's death although that would mean consequences for the woman sitting next to him. The obstacle in moving forward was that she refused to speak to anyone about anything. The paramedics worked on her quickly after Tezuka brought her out of the building and crime scene investigators were quick to take her blood stained shirt away from her for evidence.

If they were going to help her, she needed to talk. As things were now, they wouldn't get anything from her and they'd have to rely on the evidence and analysis of experts. He'd rather have a testimonial, in this particular case.

But even though Niou wanted answers, he understood they couldn't be forced out. Ryuzaki needed to see a counsellor or psychiatrist as soon as possible but now, it was time to leave.

"Tezuka, we'll end this for today. She needs her rest." Niou said, standing up from his seat. There wasn't solid evidence against her so they couldn't hold her here.

"Alright. Ryuzaki, please don't leave the city and always be available for contact. This case is urgent."

Tezuka said and left the two alone.

"Let's go Ryuzaki. I'll take you home."

He said but he didn't think she heard. Gently, he pulled her up from the seat and directed her out the room with a hand on her shoulder. While guiding her out of the station, he noted Fuji sitting at Tezuka's desk, probably dealing with paperwork that didn't need Ryuzaki's signature and presence.

Eventually, after taking a cab, they arrived at Ryuzaki's home and he opened the door with the key given by Tezuka. They stood in the doorway awkwardly until five minutes later, when Ryuzaki decided to walk inside. She removed her shoes and went straight upstairs.

Niou followed shortly after and found a door open at the end of the hall. Clearly, it was Ryuzaki's room and she was huddled under the covers of her bed. He watched her for some time, creating a plan of action in his mind. Finally, he had the day planned and closed the door in order to let her rest.

While there were many things to do, right now he needed sleep. He loosened his tie and took off his jacket and placed them on the kitchen chair. Then he made himself comfortable on the living room couch and drifted to a much needed sleep.

In the duration of the six hours of 'downtime', Niou had been awakened thrice by Ryuzaki's screams. The first time, he ran upstairs, woke her up and pulled her close to him, stroking her hair as she calmed from the panic attack. He waited until she slept again then returned downstairs. The second time she screamed, he held her again and the third time, he slept on her room floor while holding her hand.

At two in the afternoon, Niou woke to the annoying buzz of the doorbell. He was stiff and it was painful to move. After washing up, he made his way downstairs, stopping by Ryuzaki's room beforehand. It was almost difficult to comprehend it had been a little more than twenty-four hours since he last saw her.

And so much had happened in those hours. Niou quietly entered the room and brushed her bangs away from her closed eyes. It was an illusion, he thought, her peaceful expression. As soon as she returned to reality, any peace felt would disappear.

Eventually, the doorbell became hard to ignore and Niou left Ryuzaki to attend to the guest. It wasn't a surprise to see Fuji standing on the other side. Niou stood aside to let the blue eyed man in and felt almost rude to be letting a stranger into a home he himself was a guest in.

"How is she?" Fuji asked, seating himself at the kitchen table.

"Asleep." Niou answered, taking a seat across from him.

"Did she say anything?" Fuji questioned and opened his eyes. Niou debated whether or not to tell him about the panic attacks and decided it was best Fuji knew, considering the situation.

"She's probably having vivid nightmares, leading to panic attacks or having night terrors, one of the two." Niou said and leaned back into the chair with crossed arms. Fuji frowned.

"…I think it's best to get her the best professional help possible."

"Fuji, I wanted to do the same thing earlier but you _know_ they'll just put her on drugs. That's not going to solve any problems, just prolong it."

Niou knew this firsthand as he sought mental care, not caring about the social stigma prevalent in their society, after Yamamoto had broken into his apartment. Instead of working through the problems, they prescribed medication after medication and it took him more than a year to fully recover.

"I'm not sure what else to do, Niou. Yamamoto currently in a coma and chances are she won't survive. Personally, I don't feel pity for her but the circumstances are problematic for Sakuno-chan. I would feel better if she attained the services of a professional."

Fuji said, clearly thinking out loud. Niou almost raised an eyebrow at Fuji's transparency and opted not to say a word about it, in case it discouraged him to share any future thoughts.

"She'll be charged with homicide, not self-defense, if Yamamoto dies." Niou said, changing the topic and settling into the zone he was the most comfortable in. "The public would be in Ryuzaki's favour but the judge will be neutral, they'll have to be. If it was just one bullet in her, then it wouldn't be an issue, it would be self-defense. We need to know if Yamamoto continued to attack Ryuzaki after the first bullet to the chest."

"And why there was a bullet in Yamamoto's back? There are many things we need to know." Fuji added.

Both stayed silent and considered what they had to work with. Later in the afternoon, they received confirmation from Tezuka that the pistol had indeed been used by Ryuzaki. The forensics team was working on compiling evidence and so far, it was working in Yamamoto's favour. It was an unfortunate situation since Ryuzaki had attacked a mass murderer yet at the end of the day, she still attempted murder of a human being.

"Tezuka has been doing us a favour up until this point." Fuji said and Niou understood. Tezuka's position could be compromised as Niou declared himself Ryuzaki's defence attorney, so information couldn't be shared anymore. Everything Tezuka received would go to the prosecuting attorney.

Niou needed to clear his head. "I'm going to get something to eat."

"I'd like ramen." Fuji said with a smile and Niou rolled his eyes. He left both the house and Fuji behind, never once thinking about how Sakuno might react to having Fuji in her home. Hell, the conversation he had on the phone with her last night was completely forgotten, perhaps due to ck of proper sleep.

After Niou left, Fuji retrieved his tablet from his suitcase and began work. There were civil cases he was behind on because of the recent events. An hour later, he took a break from a divorce report, researching reputable psychiatrists and that was when he heard the water running upstairs, indicating Sakuno was awake.

He genuinely smiled; it was awhile since he last saw her in a stable condition and although the circumstances weren't ideal, it was a good feeling to be able to converse with her. True, it would take some time for her to recover but he had faith in her – she would survive this entire ordeal.

He would help her through it.

Usually, Fuji would always completely assess a situation but he slackened this time. When Sakuno softly walked down the stairs, he wasn't expecting to see her be so shocked upon seeing him.

"Sakuno-chan, you look so much better now." Fuji said and smiled at her.

"…Why are you here?" She said quietly, so quietly that Fuji had to strain to hear. For once, he wasn't sure what to say.

"…I'm concerned for your wellbeing, Sakuno-chan." He watched her carefully, having an idea what the conclusion of this conversation would be.

"Concerned? Liar." She hissed and at this point, Niou returned from the nearest bakery although his presence wasn't noticed by either Fuji or Sakuno. "Where was your concern in the last few days when you used me as bait?"

Silence.

Niou felt the atmosphere change to one he couldn't fathom – Ryuzaki's negativity was so strong and it was the first time he experienced…this.

"Sakuno, that was a mistake and something I can never forgive myself for doing." Fuji stood and walked to her, confidently and gently caressing her cheek. "I put you in harm's way and I am so, so sorry. I hope you can one day forgive my foolishness."

"…Forgive?" She scoffed and slapped Fuji's hand away. "How can I forgive you? You…you used me! _You_ put me with her!"

Her voice became louder, her eyes angrier, she took a step back then she whispered. "Do you know what happened in there…? Did you know she was capable of it...?"

Niou watched as Ryuzaki slowly undid the top buttons of her blouse. A first, he was stunned at her boldness then his resentment of Yamamoto spiked to a level he thought not possible when an infected and deep gash right above her heart was revealed. Tears ran down her cheeks uncontrollably and she tore off her blouse altogether.

Her chest, upper arms, waist and hips were covered in deep cuts and bruises – some were healing fine and others were not. She was shaking. His anger shifted to Fuji but it disintegrated when he saw the obvious disturbance on his face – Fuji's eyes and mouth were open wide.

Fuji did not expect this.

Ryuzaki crumpled to the ground, sobbing at the memories she had been trying to come to terms with in the past hours. Niou reached for his jacket and covered her, holding her side against his chest in a comforting hug. It was an awkward position but he didn't care.

Niou listened to her cries, to her anguish. She had only been with Yamamoto for less than eight hours and this was what happened. More than ever, Niou wanted that woman to die in the hospital while in coma.

It wouldn't matter if she died because Niou Masaharu was one of the best lawyers in this city and he would use every skill possible without rest to win Ryuzaki's case. The prosecutor could bring anything his way – nothing was going to stop him.

"…Leave…"

What? Niou frowned.

"…Leave my home."

He hesitated.

"Leave!" She pushed him away. He wanted to reach for her again but restrained. Instead, he guided Fuji, who awed by her injuries, out of the Ryuzaki household. Maybe if Fuji handled that situation in a different manner, then maybe it wouldn't be years before Fuji would set foot in Sakuno's home once again.

Maybe.

After they left, Sakuno slowed her breathing and inched her way upstairs to her room. Day turned to night then day again and Sakuno never left her bedroom. She wasn't hungry or concerned about anything occurring in reality.

Her mind was elsewhere, in a realm where she wasn't harmed. The calls and text messages were ignored. She didn't particularly care that Tezuka had come into her home and dressed her wounds properly. She didn't care for the gentle lecturing he gave her about health.

No, Sakuno was just too tired of everything and the only safe place was her home. Yamamoto would never get her here.

Never.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Short chapter! Thanks for all those lovely reviews - they definitely help with writing future chapters!


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. The original characters are mind.

* * *

><p>The world was too bright.<p>

The sun shone fiercely against the thick clouds as if it didn't want to be forgotten by the Japanese. Sakuno turned onto her other side, lingered on the bed then regrettably stood to close the curtains.

Before returning to the bed, the reflection in the mirror caught her eye. For a moment, she saw the terrible face of Yamamoto which quickly disintegrated. She then saw another woman – one who was pale, too skinny, fatigued…

Was that her?

A tear rolled down her cheek before falling to the ground.

As soon as she returned under the covers, the pain of living emerged – her body ached from all of the wounds and her mind began jumping from one memory of Yamamoto to another.

No.

She refused. She would not allow this to happen. So she closed her eyes and attempted to sleep again. It refused to come. Tears welled in her eyes, making them rather itchy. As she wiped away the tears, she remembered the painkillers Tezuka had left on the bedside.

He had given a warning about taking only as they were needed. She needed to sleep so she took three.

Sleep overtook her consciousness quicker than she imagined.

* * *

><p>The world was too frustrating.<p>

The change of weather – thick clouds covering the bright sun – was welcome, though. The other factors of his life were not.

Yes, there was an unfathomable amount of work to finish – it had been four days since he was last in the office - but Niou could not leave his bedroom. It was nearing midday and still no motivation to leave the bed. Instead, his day had been filled with thoughts of her and 'what-if' situations:

What if he had spoken to her more? What if he had never left her side? What if he never trusted anyone other than himself?

No, those thoughts couldn't change the past but he lingered on them anyway. He just wanted to resign from his position, just quit and take her away from her.

Shit, he wanted to take her away from here. That would be breaching the level of professionalism he had kept with her…he did keep it…right?

"_I won't leave your side until you wake up…" _

He had said to Sakuno as she slept.

"_Ryuzaki…I never lied to you. Please come back."_

He had pleaded when she left Tezuka's house.

No, perhaps there was a lack of professionalism since there was much more he wanted to say, that should've been said but it was too late now. She abhorred him as he did her for the past years.

Sakuno finally slipped away from him.

Niou rolled over on his back, covering his eyes from the light with his arm. This wasn't the ideal way of coming to the realization of his emotions. It truly wasn't.

And at last, he could ignore his phone no more.

Without glancing at the caller id, he answered, taken aback when it was Tezuka who spoke. He was half expecting Fuji to call and apologize for his bullshit. It had been awhile since they spoke to one another.

"Niou, I'm overwhelmed with paperwork and duties." Tezuka said monotonously.

"…Is this an attempt at complaining?" He responded.

"No, it is fact. I'm calling to say I cannot overlook Ryuzaki's recovery anymore." Tezuka curtly said.

"And why are you overlooking it? She has doctors." Niou said, ensuring his anger did not make it into his tone.

"Doctors cannot make house visits and she doesn't want to leave the house. She overdosed this morning and it's obvious - "

"What…" Niou sat up, his attention now completely on Tezuka.

"Yes, it wasn't a significant overdose but one nonetheless. As I was saying, I cannot give her more attention at this point in time."

And that was when Niou understood Tezuka's undertone. Without thanking him or saying goodbye, he hung up, hastily went through the morning rituals and was out the door.

* * *

><p>"She doesn't need to go to a hospital?" Fuji asked, clearly concerned about the news.<p>

"No, Oishi took the time to oversee her condition. He had her vomit and she was fine." Tezuka replied, silently thanking his friend for being near in this very trying time.

"Okay, thank you for watching over her. Is Niou on his way?" Fuji inquired.

"Yes. I am not doing you another favour. If you feel the need to interfere again, do it yourself." Tezuka said sternly, not happy he was guilted into calling Niou.

He thought that when Fuji fell into his own depression, he would stop being so manipulative. Tezuka was obviously wrong and was disappointed in himself for ever thinking so.

Between the paperwork and forensics, it was difficult to do much of anything outside of work. He stayed in the office almost 15 hours a day. They still weren't able to draw a concise story of what transpired that night between Sakuno and Yamamoto and the former was still not in the mood to talk.

It was nearing the two week mark since the incident.

Therapists would not make home visits just in case a client went berserk so her mind was left to wonder about. There wasn't much he could say without becoming awkward. That statement was needed from Ryuzaki and if pushed too hard, Niou would become involved as her lawyer – a lawyer who could be a pain in the ass.

Too much politics for his liking.

The sudden buzzing of his mobile snapped Tezuka out of his inner monologue.

"Tezuka speaking."

"Sir, Yamamoto has been taken from the hospital!"

…For fuck's sake.

* * *

><p>Eventually, Niou made it inside her house. It was when he was standing in front of the doorstep that he realised he didn't have a key. There wasn't a reason for him to have one, so it shouldn't have been a surprise.<p>

He sighed and considered his options: the first was to leave, the second was to get the key from Tezuka who worked miles away or ring the doorbell. The third option, waiting for a period of time for any change after ringing the doorbell, was the most appealing and surely there wasn't anything to lose, anyway.

Ten minutes passed before he heard the quiet shuffling inside. Her steps were hesitant and finally, as if she gave it much thought, the door slowly creaked open.

The woman standing on the other side was someone he didn't recognize. Her eyes were dull yet panicked, her skin was pale from malnutrition and her clothes seemed two sizes too big.

"…Can I come in?" He asked gently.

She bit her lip and looked away, her mind beginning to drift away. A flicker of an image of him standing in the doorway must have passed through her mind since she suddenly acknowledged him again.

She nodded and walked towards the kitchen. As he entered, Niou scanned the area for the units stationed for her protection. After making eye contact with two separated officers, he closed the door and followed her into the kitchen.

He watched as she sluggishly moved about. It seemed she was almost….confused. Her eyes scanned the kitchen and she constantly pulled on her sleeve in quickening agitation. It seemed she wasn't familiar with anything, as if in a stranger's home…

He quietly sighed and placed his hand on her shoulder gently. She startled noticeably and looked back at him, her hands clutching the ends of her shirt.

"Why don't you sit in the living room? I'll make tea." Niou said softly and slowly.

Her restless eyes finally settled and she left the kitchen. The following ten minutes were filled with silence. Not awkward nor comfortable but something in between. For once, there weren't any thoughts on his mind.

After pouring the tea into two cups, he went into the living room. There he found her sitting on the couch, hunched and eyes downcast. She seemed to have slipped from this reality, again.

"Here."

She blinked then lifted her gaze towards him. Her eyes were hollow yet she reached for the cup, grasping to the heat it offered.

He sat down next to her and looked at the painting hung on the opposite wall. It wasn't anything special, just a water colour painting of three sunflowers which were lifting themselves to the sun above. Niou hadn't noticed that there before.

Suddenly, a foreign feeling came onto him – a bubble of hope filled his chest and he felt anything was possible in this moment. It was a feeling different from confidence, from determination, emotions he felt when he knew when a case or a tennis match was in his favour.

Hope was not a feeling he was accustomed to because throughout his life, Niou depended on logic and facts. He determined his own future.

Yet in this moment, everything was not in his hands. It would be determined by another and his hope was for a positive change. So he delved into the conversation that had been avoided for so long.

"What happens now, Sakuno?" He asked, eyes still on the painting.

Surely, she was silent for more than a minute before answering in a quiet but surprisingly sturdy voice.

"…I want all of this to end." She replied.

"And do you know how it can happen?" He asked.

"…Yes." She said in a much quieter voice. He glanced at her and noticed her gaze too was on the painting in front of them.

"Then tell me, why did you take more than one pill?" Now this was gambling – was she going to be offended or would she sink back into a deeper depression?

Multiple times, her mouth opened and closed, about to speak then hesitated. Then finally, she spoke.

"I…just didn't want to hurt anymore. I…see her every day. It's as if she won't ever leave me. It was getting hard to sleep…so I thought taking more than one pill would let me miss REM sleep. That way, I won't dream."

"Did you intend to kill yourself?" He asked.

"No…no. As much as that would truly end everything, I don't feel it would be the right way. I would've held back potential justice to the other victims." She said softly.

"…Do you know what those close to you would've felt if you went through with it?" He asked, withholding resentment he wasn't aware had built up against her for potential suicide.

"Yes."

"…You know, a person isn't judged for how they fall but for how they rise after a fall. You've gone through a rough patch and now it's time to act." He said, now looking at her.

She turned her eyes towards him briefly then looked at the floor.

"I understand." She whispered.

"Okay, good. I know this is hard but tell me what happened _that_ night." Niou said, feeling a heavy weight slowly lifting from his shoulders. The relief faded quickly as he recognized her entering another period of darkness.

Before it could overtake her, he took her hand in his. He wanted to hold her, keep her close. But it would be victimizing her and if she was to stand trial, she had to be strong, not dependent on his comfort.

She looked at him, sadness evident in every fibre of her being.

"Don't give in to solitude, Sakuno." Niou whispered.

Her mouth opened and closed between brief intervals as she thought. Then finally, with a strengthened resolve, she looked into his eyes and replied,

"I won't anymore."

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: I am so sorry that I disappeared for so long! I recently got into a car accident myself and every limb except my left arm was damaged. The recovery process made me think of many things and this story was part of it - I definitely did not capture the desolation of post-accident trauma. It makes this story awkward but I will finish it because it is so close to its end.

For those who have stayed with me until now, thank you. I appreciate your support.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. I do own Yamamoto and other original characters.

* * *

><p>When she woke, something didn't feel right. When she tried to move, her body refused.<p>

For the first time in nearly a decade, Yamamoto screamed, shock and frustration interlaced as memories flowed back into her mind. The exact moment of the bullets entering her was forgotten but one fact was left intact:

She was betrayed.

* * *

><p>"I…didn't know where I was. They put a bag over my head...it smelled terrible. I could only hear her voice as some people – men, I think - led me to a room. I almost tripped on the stairs…a-and I think she bashed someone's head against a wall...it sounded painful and…there wasn't any sounds from that person after."<p>

Sakuno said, loosening her grip on his hand.

"…Then she spent the next hour, doing my make-up and _gossiping_ about people I didn't know…as if we were childhood friends."

"How do you know an hour passed?" Niou asked.

"…Because she told me perfection takes at least an hour or more. Then someone needed her for something and opened the door without knocking. S-she wasn't happy to be interrupted…" Sakuno answered and looked outside the living room window.

"Do you remember who interrupted her?" He asked.

"…No."

Neither spoke. Niou patiently waited for her to return her attention to the present. Some time passed before she did and continued her story.

"She left and promised to return to our 'play date'…I wanted to escape so I thought that if I jumped out of the window in the room, the most that would happen was a fracture. I'm not a stranger to pain."

She weakly chuckled. "But when I looked out, I found I was on the fourth floor. I would've broken more than a bone."

Sakuno scoffed. "All hope left me and I felt incredibly empty. There wasn't anything to do but return to bed. I couldn't leave the room through the door since there was someone outside the entire time. Then…then she came back…"

Her body began trembling again. At first it was minor, affecting her speech here and there but then it escalated. Soon she was shaking uncontrollably. He tightened his grip on her hand and waited for her desolation to subside.

It didn't.

So he waited…waited…and waited. Eventually, she calmed and began to breathe normally. Niou closed his eyes and sighed internally. It was not of impatience but of irritation. He already placed limits on himself from giving anymore physical support to her.

She had to be strong.

"She…she had a knife…when she came back and…and did all of this…a-and wrapped me in bandages s-so I would…would look like a beautiful corpse…" Sakuno whispered, looking down at the floor which clutching the ends of her shirt. Tears slowly formed and fell down her cheek.

Niou couldn't look at her. He just couldn't.

"Then s-s-she s-started to re-reminisce about her past w-" Sakuno bit her lip and looked off to the side, avoiding any eye contact with Niou. He stayed silent. Obviously, it had to do with him. That was something the courts didn't need to know.

"The courts shouldn't know about my past relationship with Yamamoto. All that's on record is her hostility towards me for taking the case against her. The defense will use that as my bias in the case." He said.

Sakuno returned her gaze on him and eventually nodded. "I understand. But…what about-" She bit her lip again and looked away again.

"What about what?" He asked with a forming frown.

"Um…well, what about…isn't there a bias…if you represent me?" She asked nervously, still avoiding eye contact.

Why couldn't females be direct? Sighing internally, he answered professionally. "You are an employee with my father's company and I am the best criminal law specialists in the firm. It makes complete sense why I would represent you."

He could see a frown and it made him slightly happy. She was becoming her true self. "But…doesn't the system provide a persecutor? How is it possible for a lawyer in a private practice to represent me?"

That was a conversation he didn't want to get into. Between him, Fuji and his father, the President, things were made possible for Niou to represent Sakuno on either side. Another major factor was whether or not Sakuno would be tried for attempted murder. It wasn't confirmed yet.

But he couldn't avoid telling her the truth. Doing that the first round created this particular situation.

"We don't know on which side of the case you'll be sitting at. It could be as a victim of a crime or as a defendant. That is why I need to know what happened that night."

Niou steered the conversation back in its initial direction. They couldn't afford to lose time in petty details.

"O-oh…" She pulled her hand free from him and turned away.

"It can go _either_ way. My way ensures you don't go to jail for self-defence, which it was why Yamamoto is in the hospital, correct?"

Niou raised a brow when she didn't say anything. "Sakuno? It was self-defence, right?"

"When she came near me with the pistol...I lost all sense. The moment that I dreaded was finally coming….she wanted me to die. S-she pressed the tip against my chest, slapped my face and then k…kissed me. She smiled and was about to pull the trigger."

She turned her gaze towards the afternoon sun.

"I believe God was watching over me – the door burst open again and someone came in, saying the police had found them. She ordered to take as much of 'it' out, which I think he did. The door was left open….that's when he came in…"

She trailed off yet again.

"Who? _Who_ came in?" Niou placed his hand on her shoulder, forcing her to make eye contact with him. He could feel the intensity within and noticed her subtle flinch upon looking at him.

"S-someone named Michael…she wasn't happy and cussed at him. As she was standing up, he pulled a gun and shot her…I've never seen someone so stunned before…then she was falling to the ground, spinning, and then he shot her again, in her back….ouch!"

Sakuno winced and Niou loosened his grip. He hadn't realised what he was doing since everyone's initial assumption was unfortunately correct.

"She…wasn't attacking you, was she? Why did you take her gun and why did you shoot her?" Niou asked gently, removing his hand from her shoulder.

Tears formed at the corner of her eyes. "It was so…chaotic. There was shouting, yelling, screaming, and lots of banging and smashing noises…I don't remember taking the gun but I remember pulling the trigger right before she fell…" Sakuno whispered.

"I wanted her to die!" The tears began their descent and she turned away, ensuring Niou didn't see her face. "Then s-she began to cut me…I just wanted her to die! She cut me with a knife and…and she _touched me, _violated me!"

_Fuck_ that psychopathic bitch!

Sakuno cried uncontrollably and shook, holding herself to keep the shudders to a minimum. It didn't work. Niou _almost_ pulled her into a hug. But no, he couldn't. No…instead he watched her hunched form. This time, he watched as she cried.

He was completely powerless to do anything. He couldn't breach the line of professionalism once again.

"If we're going to get through this, then you must do exactly as I tell you to. No deviating from the story that we agree on, understood?" He said, weighing his words carefully.

"…Niou-san, I _wanted_ to kill someone…even if it was Yamamoto, what makes the difference between she and I is that I shouldn't want to kill anyone!"

She shouted and jumped to her feet, losing the last bit of composure she had. They stared at one another and he stood as well. Placing both hands on each of her shoulders, he lowered himself so he was close to her.

"I don't want you to go to jail for being feeling like any other human being should in your situation." He kept his hands on her shoulders but took a step back. "And if this was a man, you wouldn't regret admitting you wanted him to die, right?"

Her eyes widened and she looked away, ashamed.

"Sakuno, I understand that this society isn't accustomed to villainous women of this degree but they exist. They've made news more than once. These women have lost their empathy for others and merely care about themselves. Don't keep a double standard."

"B-but…she does care for another…she cares so much for Tezuka-san…"

That was almost a shock. Yes, those two did have a solid but hidden relationship during high school. Niou didn't care what happened between them then but at this moment, it was affecting the woman he cared a considerable amount for.

Tezuka could use this to his advantage.

"Why do you say that?" He asked, prodding for more information and curious as to what she and Yamamoto had spoken about.

"The way she spoke about Tezuka-san, the pain she still feels today because he chose tennis over her. Some people would speak of it as a thing of a past, had they truly moved on. I don't think she has. Also, Niou-san…women can see when another woman loves someone. It's just…a feeling we get. She even know about my -"

Sakuno was looking to the side, had a small smile in place but then bit her lip and frowned. There was a light blush colouring her cheeks.

Niou wished she finished that sentence. It would be awkward now to poke for more answers. Damn.

It was time for a break. "Do you have groceries? I'm going to make lunch."

"Um…I think Tezuka-san had bought some things. I'm not sure…" She replied.

At this point, Niou felt like smacking her. Was she starving herself? "Haven't you been eating?"

"I-I have but not much. I don't use a lot of energy..."

He sighed and told her to watch TV or read a book, something productive that wasn't sleeping. She nodded and stayed behind while he walked to the kitchen.

As he searched the fridge and cabinets for ingredients, and satisfied Sakuno couldn't hear, Niou dialled Tezuka's phone to enlighten him of the news. If the guy still had some feelings for that psycho – and it would give a huge insight to his twisted mind, if that was the case – he'd have to get over it for the sake of closing the case.

He'd have to use the opportunity presented to them.

"Tezuka."

"It's Niou."

"…You sound happy."

"I sound the usual."

"Right. What do you need?"

"Sakuno talked."

"No wonder you're happy."

"It's eerie you're saying more than the usual."

"Just stating a fact."

"No need for it. Seems Yamamoto still has attachment to you. I'd say use it to your advantage."

"…I see. Was that all?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. Two things you need to know."

"And they would be?"

"Ryuzaki's friend, Osakada, needs to be contacted soon. She keeps calling the station trying to know what happened."

"Alright."

"And the second is much more serious. Yamamoto has been taken from the hospital. Talk to Ryuzaki about witness protection."

Niou was shocked beyond any degrading remark.

He smashed his cell against the wall. His breaths were short and shallow, his very being filled with rage. Why were the police incredibly incompetent?! This was their fourth strike!

But the worst part was yet to come – he had to tell _her_ Yamamoto was free once again. He had to tell her that her life was in danger _again_. Ah, there were the footsteps. Of course she heard the cell smash against the wall. Who wouldn't?

With anger dissipated Niou slightly looked over his shoulder to find her fragile body standing in the doorway. She was curious but deep in her heart, knew what had happened as her hands were balled into tight fists, pressed close to her side.

He couldn't look at her so he didn't.

"W-was that Tezuka-san on the phone…?" She said with a shaking voice.

"…Yes." He replied hesitantly. "…She escaped."

When he heard her shuddering gasp, his own hands balled into fists. He clenched his teeth and frowned, aggravation returning. When would this end?!

And again, his anger instantly left for Sakuno had come close and rested her forehead against his back. He could feel her lightly grasping his shirt. It was unexpected to the point of his eyes widening.

She stifled a sob and tried to speak. "Why…why does this keep happening!"

After a deep breath, Niou turned and lifted her into his arms and returned to the living room. He kept her in his arms and lap as he sat down. Her head fell against his chest and it seemed she was too surprised to move.

"We'll stay together until she is apprehended once again. I will do my work from here and go out when I absolutely have to. If you get mad again and want me to leave the house, it's not going to happen and if it doesn't suit you, you're not going to run away either. Do you understand?" He said in an authoritative tone. Screw the witness protection program – he was the only one who could keep her safe.

"Y-yes…" She replied meekly.

Then they didn't say anything. Niou wasn't sure what else needed to be said. But whatever he said calmed her since her heartbeat and breathing was normal once again.

"Niou-san…why are you, um, why you doing all this….?" She asked quietly.

'_Because there are complicated emotions involved.'_ He thought although, "I'm your lawyer and I want to win this case." is what he said.

"…Really?"

"…"

"It seems…a little over the top just to win…"

"…What are you insinuating?"

She didn't say anything for awhile then, "Thank you, Niou-san. E-even if it's to win the case…" her voice became much quieter. "I really a-appreciate your coming here even though…I yelled at you."

It was most likely she was pressing against him subconsciously, due to embarrassment of _that_ night. He didn't say anything though and instead, focused his energy on restraining himself from committing any other questionable actions.

Like kissing her.

"I feel safe…with you…" She whispered.

He merely grinned and relaxed his chin against the top of her head. It was a reassuring statement that didn't need a reply.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Whew. So close to the end...and thanks again to my reviewers. Even if it's a small portion, I can't believe how popular this story has become, haha. It's always nice to read reviews and have the support of readers. Until next time, everyone!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. Any and all original characters are my own creation.

* * *

><p>Coincidence or not, Tezuka's unusual route had him pass the recreation centre's tennis courts. He paused to watch the youth play friendly matches. The determination in their eyes reminded him of the last tournament he won before accident which permanently injured his leg.<p>

And as quick as a blink, his life's passion came to an unsatisfying end.

Suddenly, a jolt ran through his heart – it was a feeling he hadn't experienced in a very long time. It meant she was very close.

He hesitated looking over his shoulder but he once he did, he found Yamamoto Akiko sitting, with crossed arms, on a bench across the street.

It was a feeling of déjà vu – this is exactly how they met nine years ago.

* * *

><p>"And what? Is he constantly over?"<p>

Tomoka asked, delving deeper once she knew about Niou's dedication towards the case. Sakuno shifted her phone to the other ear – it had been about an hour since she first called.

Following numerous questions and dramatic moments, Tomoka was caught up on the events of the past few weeks. She also scolded Sakuno about wrong choices when the conversation revolved around the intake of pills.

And now, Tomoka was incredibly interested in Niou. Fair enough, she was aware of the haughty attitude he had given Sakuno for the past few months. Funny how near death experiences changed perspectives…

"W-well…he's, um, staying over…"

"WHAT! Staying over! Do you guys sleep in the same bed?!" Tomoka screamed and Sakuno flinched.

"N-no we don't! He sleeps in the guest bedroom…" She said, purposely not bringing up the night she had an extremely vivid nightmare, the feeling of terror ending only when Niou slept on her bedroom floor.

It was an event neither of them spoke of.

"That's not weird to you? Him in the house? Don't you think he's…taking his 'dedication too far?" Tomoka questioned with a softer tone.

"Well it's…a bit of a relief, honestly. Grandmother isn't here with me…and after everything that happened, it's kind of nice to have someone in the house…" She said softly.

"…Stupid Sakuno. I'm here too, you know." Tomoka replied in a very maternal manner. It was a side that made more appearances in the recent years, _especially_ since she was expecting.

"I'm sorry Tomo-chan…I didn't want to involve more people, especially with your pregnancy. I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to the baby before it had a chance at life." Sakuno said with a smile.

"I'm only in the first trimester!" Tomoka exclaimed.

"I'm sure Kaidoh-san wouldn't think like that." Sakuno said, temporarily removing the phone as she slipped into a much more comfortable outfit for the day.

"Pft, he freaks out every time I have a _tiny_ slip. It's gotten more annoying ever since we decided on a date." Tomoka said with a sigh.

"Oh! You're getting married! When?!" Sakuno had never exclaimed before! But this was the best news she had received in awhile. She sat on bed, slightly shaking with excitement.

"Yes! We just decided yesterday that it had to happen before the baby comes. Kaoru was fretting over it for such a long time – he's more conservative than I'll ever be. I'm really surprised I got pregnant before getting married, to be honest. It's not his style." Tomoka said then laughed.

"Life doesn't always go as planned…so he's going to postpone his tennis tournaments?" Sakuno asked. He was doing incredibly well, the last she heard.

"He says his family is more important right now. Did I hit the lottery in the game of men or what?"

Both girls giggled. Tomoka then excused herself since a guest arrived at her home. With a promise to meet tomorrow, both women ended the call.

Sakuno sighed, her small smile still lingering. She turned to gaze at the brilliant blue sky outside. The brightness called to her and she rose to walk towards her window.

Birds were flying, children were playing, and adults were carrying on with their lives.

Perhaps the world wasn't a terrible place after all.

A flicker of movement caught her eye and she turned to look at the entrance gate of her home. There she saw a familiar figure with hands in his jacket pockets, overlooking the bustling activities of the neighbourhood.

His silver hair gleamed in the sunlight and he turned to look up at her. He grinned before disappearing.

Sakuno blinked, surprised she had a vision.

She closed her eyes, sighed, and then remembered the conversation with Tomoka. Her best friend was pregnant and getting married. Her thoughts shouldn't be anywhere else, especially anywhere near Niou.

At that very moment, she couldn't feel happier. Today she was going to be productive and she wasn't going to think about this shitty situation she was in.

Sakuno stepped away from the window then hesitated before going downstairs. What could she do? There weren't any classes to study for or work to do. The house was relatively tidy thanks to both Niou and Tezuka. She really had to thank them for everything that they did for her.

Maybe she could go grocery shopping. As she formed a mental grocery list, she descended the stairs.

She didn't notice Niou sleeping in the living room until after she finished searching for her purse. After gasping silently then scolding herself for being rude, Sakuno watched him for a few moments before walking to him and brushing aside his bangs.

Obviously, the past week had been incredibly difficult on him. He had refused her from doing any chores so between them and his work, his fatigue wasn't a wonder. She'd make dinner tonight and the nights following.

With a smile on her face, she tip-toed towards the door and took a light jacket from the closet. It was a relatively windy for a summer day.

As she opened the door, it was forced shut again. After recovering from shock and looking up, she found Niou's hand against the door and his eyes on her. She turned to face him and he stepped closer. She stepped back and the doorknob pressed against her lower back.

"My job requires clear communication, you know?" He murmured.

"Y-yes…" She responded, not sure if the question was rhetorical.

"Sometimes I wonder if what I say isn't clear enough." Niou looked directly in her eyes with such intensity that Sakuno couldn't look away. Wait, was she supposed to say something?

"I told you already that if you're mad at me and want to leave, it's not going to happen, right?" He said so quietly, with a touch of…malice?

"B-but I'm no-" He cut her off by punching the door.

"What more do you want from me?!" His scowl…why was he scowling? This wasn't the Niou she knew! What was happening? How did this escalate so fast?

"What more do you want?" Niou whispered and lifted her chin. His eyes were glazed over and he was coming much too close. His finger held her chin up. Her heart raced, her pulse quickened.

His lips were almost on hers, his eyes closed and she finally understood.

He was still in that phase of sleep where things seem surreal. Niou must have been terribly exhausted to be up and about. Even if he wouldn't remember this, Sakuno couldn't and wouldn't cross any more lines. It would hurt his professionalism…and destroy every inch of her resistance she maintained.

She placed two fingers on his lips and gently pushed him away. He slowly opened his eyes and surprisingly, they were filled with confusion. But he blinked and rare emotion disappeared. She looked to the side.

It was the first time she'd seen him in such a state of vulnerability. It felt like she was invading his privacy by looking at him. Whatever he was feeling right now, it wasn't real…she tried to keep the hope of returned feelings deep within her heart but this was becoming too much.

"I'm not mad at you. I wanted to go grocery shopping." She sharply whispered, returning her gaze on him. He stared at her, his thoughts unreadable.

"Do you doubt me, Sakuno?" He whispered.

"…Yes." She kept her gaze steady.

"What intention could I have?" He asked with slight anger. His roughness somehow pulled her in and before she could stop herself, words formed from her subconscious mind.

"…Perhaps you need someone to completely depend on you. That's what lawyers are accustomed to – determining the future of a client thus being in control of their lives. Why are you different?" Oh no…these were the thoughts she felt prior to her abduction. She was sure she moved on…

"…Because I want to be _in_ your future." Niou whispered. Sakuno looked away – the words hurt. Her heart was beating too hard, discouraging coherent thoughts. This wasn't real; it couldn't be real because Niou would never like someone like her. There wasn't any hope.

She was weak, so weak that she fell prey to the hunters surrounding her – Fuji, Tezuka…and Niou. She was merely a case and Niou would want to keep his record high. Meaning, he would do whatever it took to win, including playing with her feelings.

"Please…don't lie to me. Everything you say right now, you don't mean. You're sleep walking, Masaharu." She said, her voice wavering.

"…Is it so difficult for you to believe I care for you?" He made her look at him again. The intensity in those beautiful green eyes frightened her but he wouldn't allow her to look away.

"Well, believe it or not, I care. Since the day you knocked me down the stairs, I've always been attracted to you to an extent and _I know _you felt the same. Every time you paid me any attention, I would feel it. Even after our spat, I couldn't get you off my mind.

"And what was so special about you anyway? You were a plain and average pushover! There was nothing special about you…"

Ouch.

A single tear formed in her eye, shocking her. His opinion shouldn't matter. She refused to let that tear fall. How could she have been so blind?

"It was easy to suppress those feelings after I graduated and didn't see you for years. But we just couldn't stay apart, could we? Lo and behold, you enter my life like a storm by becoming that bastard's assistant. _Do you know how hard it was?_"

Sakuno's mind was preoccupied and she only heard the last thing he said.

"The destiny and fate shit that is embedded in our society isn't something I believe in. But this is as close as it gets because coincidence didn't get you that job – you knew Fuji from before and it's easier to get a job through soft contacts than anything else."

Silence passed for too long between them. Sakuno steadied her breathing and tried to calm her heart. It wasn't going well.

"_I love you_. I want to be with you and as fucked up as this situation is-" He tried pulling her into a hug "-it brought you back to me."

But her consciousness heard nothing of his confession. The final stab to her soul was what she understood as Niou's utmost rejection and her subconscious shielded her from this, making her forget any words she could have recalled in the future.

"S-stop!" She finally uttered. They struggled with one another and finally, Sakuno slapped him.

She didn't note his reaction, his expression or anything to do with him.

"You're terrible…." Sakuno whispered before turning to leave the house. For the first time in months, she ran, wanting to be as far away as possible.

* * *

><p>"I can't walk right now; they say my spinal cord is bruised. I need to use a wheelchair but it seemed so…unsophisticated. I had my men take it away." Yamamoto said. "Thank you for asking." She added with much sarcasm and glanced at him.<p>

"Is there a need to?" Tezuka asked, keeping his eyes on the courts across the street. He could sense her eyes on him. He turned to look at her.

"Do you feel absolutely nothing for me?" She asked softly.

"…Is there a reason to?" He asked gently.

For many moments they held each other's gaze. Unfortunately, they knew one another's thoughts too well – their intellect was evenly matched.

Yamamoto burst out laughing. She did so for minutes then looked at him again, tucking a strand behind his ear. He didn't flinch. She noticed.

"Stay away from Ryuzaki. All of this needs to stop." Tezuka said firmly. She traced his jaw line as he kept his gaze on her.

"You know I don't like doing favours. If you want me to leave that mouse alone, then you need to earn it. Before we discuss further, we need a private space. Take me to the car."

Tezuka frowned but he knew to play her game. Grudgingly, he carried her in the same way he would've had they just finished a marriage ceremony. Never in his life did Tezuka feel so challenged for his heart began beating as it did in the past, when they were together.

How this feeling arise for a murderer? A woman who took away the freedom and lives of others?

Eventually, they reached the car and they rode in silence. Once arriving at their destination, she instructed him to take her to an apartment in the wheelchair. He did.

Then finally, they were alone. Tezuka hoisted her from the wheelchair and placed her on the chair in a room designed to be a study.

Finally, he spoke. "What do you desire, Akiko?"

Yamamoto looked at him and thought carefully. "A traitor has ruined a heist and I want assistance taking him down."

Tezuka frowned. "You want to implicate me?"

"No, no, my _dear_, I want your force to go after him. We'll watch from the background and…assist if necessary."

Tezuka knew this would be sending many messages out to criminals, specifically that Akiko had the police in her palms. This was not going to happen so easily.

"There is going to be a raid in an abandoned warehouse with both your men and his. I will personally go after this man, apprehend him and you will leave Ryuzaki and her family alone for the rest of their lives. Should you escape or not, that is your business. Consider it a favour from me."

Yamamoto frowned then chuckled. "You always did have to fight to stay dominate, neh? Alright, I agree to your terms."

Tezuka nodded, stood to leave then made the mistake of looking into her eyes. He couldn't look away from her luring gaze. For a moment, with her genuine smile, relaxed shoulders and gentle eyes, she became her old self, the self which he fell in love with.

She reached out to him, he went to her with holding her close to him, they entered the bedroom. The fading spark soon became a fire.

As they lay entwined in the other's arms under the blanket, Tezuka thought about the disgrace he would feel very, very soon. He had slept with the enemy, the murderer, the immoral. She never felt remorse for her actions and here he was, lying next to her naked body.

"Kunimitsu," She said, turning his face towards her. "it's too late for anything to change, I know. But I want you to always know I was willing to leave all of this for you. I was willing to forget my inheritance, my responsibilities and live a peaceful life with you."

For the first time in his life, Tezuka found melancholy in her eyes. He didn't know what to say as regret ran through his mind. If he had made room for her in his future years ago, then all of the crimes her gang committed might not have happened.

He could have saved so many people if he didn't have such a narrow mindset.

Akiko could have walked a different path.

He pushed the rational argument of Akiko being an individual capable of making right choice to the back of his mind. Instead, he took full responsibility for his actions and allowed regret to fill his mind.

Yet relished the short time he had left with her before their factions called for leadership.

* * *

><p><strong>AN** - Thank you for all of the reviews so far :) It is much appreciated.


	14. The End

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. All original characters belong to me.

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><p>Since she was young, Yamamoto would know rain was coming two weeks prior. It always started as a dull feeling then strengthened each day. It was a gift that made her special and years later, it was one which came in handy.<p>

The rain was the best kind of weather to naturally remove evidence and in this case, any evidence between the synchronization between herself and Tezuka would remain hidden.

She had to watch the scene play out carefully below because of her temporary physical deficiency. She would need to time her escape accordingly and Tezuka couldn't be trusted in this situation, no matter his feelings.

Soon, her trusted employee joined her on the rooftop of the building.

"They'll be here soon." He said.

Indeed they would and thus the game began with a clear outcome – kill Michael for his betrayal.

_**Nine months later**_**…**

Fuji decided it was time for a break. It was a difficult adjustment to work without an assistant. He never took Sakuno for granted but had a new appreciation for her work. And today, more than ever, he missed her.

He looked at the spot where Niou's desk once was and smiled with great regret. His former 'partner' thought it was time for his own space. Fuji had lost two relationships in the grand scheme of things and without anything to show – his ego didn't receive the usual boost.

If anything, he hoped Niou and Sakuno would've worked things out. But as far as he knew, they hadn't spoken in nearly nine months. Something happened between them but Fuji was unsure exactly what it was. Since that day, he sensed a peculiarity from Niou.

They never talked about the Yamamoto incident. Ever since Tezuka somehow managed to fix everything, it was as though the entire thing never happened.

Usually, Fuji would pry but this time, he thought to leave it be. Surely one day, they would both speak to him again.

Then Tezuka chose that moment to call.

"Tezuka, it's been awhile."

"Fuji. How have you been?"

"I've seen better days. You?"

"Fine. I've been speaking to Ryuzaki-sensei."

Fuji chuckled. "It's never a leisure phone call, eh?"

"…Ryuzaki seems to be cycling between normal and abnormal behaviour."

"…And?"

"She needs someone to talk to her."

"Surely you understand our history, Kunimitsu."

"I do. Good luck."

Tezuka ended the call and hoped for the best. He understood that he wasn't the best candidate to speak to her so Fuji had to do. Ryuzaki-sensei had moved to Okinawa and Ryuzaki chose to stay behind to complete her studies. After the raid months ago, Tezuka neglected to check up on her.

The last time he saw Ryuzaki was after a follow up visit to the police station. That was months ago.

But at this moment, Tezuka had his own problem to handle, specifically to do with a potential home invasion.

The front door of his home was ajar.

Tezuka kept a gun on hand at all times and today, it was finally time to use it. Cautiously, he entered the house and quietly he searched. He saw his bedroom lights on from the bottom of the stairs. He frowned and walked towards it.

He angled himself to look inside the room. In some way, Tezuka wasn't surprised to find Yamamoto staring out the window. He lowered his gun and stood at the doorway. Their gazes met through the window's reflection.

When she turned, Tezuka frowned to see a child in her arms, wrapped in a blanket. His mind blanked.

"I haven't named him." She smiled with a mother's love and tapped their son's cheek.

Tezuka walked over to her and took the sleeping baby from her arms.

He was perfect.

"I don't want him to live my life, Kunimitsu." Tezuka looked at her and was surprised to find melancholy in her eyes. He understood – Yamamoto Akiko would never be part of their life again.

"I wrote these for him. One for every birthday for the next twenty-four years. He was born last week, on the 3rd." She walked to his desk and patted a pile of letters. "Tell him…his mother died in a car accident and that she will always love him."

Tezuka watched as she came to them and kissed the child's forehead. She then looked at Tezuka and touched his cheek. "You'll make a great father."

"He'll never know about you." Was all the reassurance he could give her. She accepted it with a grin.

"Thank you."

"And you must leave Ryuzaki, Niou, and Fuji alone, never to touch or involve them in your schemes again."

She looked at him and left, intending never to see them again.

* * *

><p>Fuji knew there was a university tennis tournament occurring. He knew that she would want something to soothe her nerves and tennis was that something.<p>

He wasn't surprised to see her sitting on the bleachers, away from everyone else, watching a game between a varsity member from her university and their rivals. He watched for a short while then observed her.

Her hair was in a single, side braid and she wore a simple blue dress with a jacket huddled around her shoulders. Her arms were crossed and she didn't seem focused on the game.

"May I join you?" Fuji asked after making his way towards her.

She startled and calmed instantly after seeing him. Her eyes were devoid of emotion and she looked away, nodding. For many moments, they sat in silence.

"How have you been?" He asked.

"Alright. How about you?" She asked flatly.

"It's been…hectic." He chuckled. "I…hear you haven't exactly been 'alright', Sakuno-chan."

"…"

"I understand that what you've been through in the past year wasn't normal. I know it has affected your mind in more ways than one."

Sakuno opened her mouth to retort but he continued. "I know because I was where you are now. When I originally took this case, I hadn't realized how terrible people could be. It was a case that changed my perspective and my approach to life.

"It was then I became a…chess player." Sakuno looked at him.

"I didn't let anyone near me because at the end of the day, they needed to be expendable. These past few months have made me regret my decisions."

Fuji stood and looked down at her.

"Lean on others, accept people who _want_ you into your life. You are the only one who can change your lifestyle. Don't make the mistakes I did and create a kingdom of seclusion. It is a very dark place and very difficult leave."

Fuji gave her a soft grin and left the area, wishing she would make the right choice.

* * *

><p>"Niou, stop calling me. Especially so late in the evening." Tezuka ordered.<p>

"It's only 10 and you aren't answering my questions about Yamamoto. I'll stop when I get a clear understanding of what happened."

"Yamamoto will never bother all of you again."

"_Why_?"

Before Tezuka responded, Niou heard, what he thought was a baby, crying in the background.

"Niou, don't call anymore."

Tezuka said and hung up. Niou didn't want to linger on why there would be a baby in Tezuka's house. Instead, he decided to call it a day. Word had spread about the involvement he and Fuji had with Yamamoto's dealing. People took it as the firm wasn't scared to tackle dangerous foes with civil cases.

So their clients increased and Niou had never been busier. It served as a good distraction from the only stressor currently in his life. Not receiving closure on what went wrong between him and Sakuno had him forming obsessive behaviours. He learned it was it was time to move on.

But it was hard.

Time and time again, he thought about his straightforward blunders and harsh words. Ryuzaki Sakuno was nearly a typical Japanese woman – quiet, reserved, shy – and that never mixed well with personalities like his.

So why had he fooled himself thinking they had a chance together?

The love he had for her wouldn't go away for a long, long time. Thankfully, his work load increased and he was able to purchase a new car, both filling the necessary emptiness within him. He was able to cruise around the city at night, when his thoughts became too much.

With a Corvette Stingray, comfort and speed interlaced like never before. It was almost better than his Lexus. Almost.

As Niou pondered, he had walked into the elevator and with it being made of glass, he was able to see a suspicious individual near his new beauty. His adrenaline spiked and he tried to get a better look at the person.

Thank the heavens they just installed a faster elevator.

He descended quickly and walked at his fastest speed. His anger fluctuated as he thought of the stranger and most thoughts revolved around Yamamoto's henchmen. He wasn't going to lose this car either and if he did, he was sending an assassin after that bitch.

He nearly ran down the front stairs but retained dignity. As he came closer and closer to his red beauty, Niou kept slowing his pace.

The suspicious person was a female…with her hair tied up, a simple outfit and eyes on the ground. This person was without a doubt, Ryuzaki Sakuno. First he wondered if it was a delusion – he had been working overtime in the last two weeks and hadn't been eating properly.

His heartbeat increased in pace when his mind confirmed the woman in front of him was absolutely real. He wanted to drop his briefcase and run towards her. But he didn't. Instead, he stopped with enough space for a potential conversation, without needing to yell.

"…Ryuzaki."

She was holding her arm and the grip tightened after he uttered her name.

"…N-Niou-san…"

Nothing, Niou thought, could be worse than the rejection from nine months ago.

"…I've had a lot of time to myself recently…and I'll be graduating soon. Someone once close to me said a few things that made me think about my choices."

"…"

"…These last few months made me realise that I was living in a bubble of fear, of security…I-I was letting…_her_ dictate my life. I realized that I don't want that…"

She still hadn't looked up at him. He curled his fingers into a fist.

"I want to move on…I…want to say one last thing. Maybe after that, I can leave behind this terrible time."

Niou dug his fingers into his palm. He felt as though he had told her that the upside to the Yamamoto situation was her coming back to him…then again that might have been a dream.

Even though it was something he never wished to relive again, it allowed him to understand this woman better, be there for her and most importantly…let her see his hidden self.

But it seemed she didn't feel the same.

"I…always found myself attracted to you."

Well, there were those rare times he was wrong.

"I never understood what happened in the past between us…but the past should stay in the past. The feelings I ignored were coming back and with strength I didn't know."

Look at me, Sakuno, Niou thought.

"But…we don't have a future, right? We're two different people and…I don't see the point in pushing something that shouldn't be."

Niou frowned and it was at this moment Sakuno looked up at him.

"A-ah…so I'm right…I'm sorry." She looked away and began to walk away.

When he reached her, when he grabbed her wrist, he didn't know. But when he did, Sakuno looked back at him, confusion evident in those beautiful brown eyes.

"I don't know what happened between us for this to happen." Niou said, taking her hand in his.

"But I don't care." He pulled her closer.

"What matters now is that I love you and I want you in my life." He lowered his lips near hers.

She light pushed him away and looked away. "B-but…I'm not who I was…"

"Who is?"

"I-I…still haven't gotten over everything…"

"Time works wonders."

"The scars...aren't going to go away…" She whispered.

"I really don't give a shit." Niou said firmly, eliminating any further resistance. He placed a finger under her chin and pushed upwards.

"You're prefect the way you are."

He murmured and kissed her luscious lips.

The ecstasy he felt from something so simple was phenomenal. She finally accepted him.

/_/_/

She didn't want to return to her home so they went to his. Niou kept his hand on hers the entire drive and she looked out the window, blushing.

It took them awhile to leave the car once they reached the apartment since he wouldn't take his eyes off her. He kept her close at all times, holding her hand in the elevator, sneaking a kiss here and there.

When time came for sleep, she indirectly pushed away the idea of him sleeping on the couch. He gave her a shirt too large for her but she never looked better.

That night was the best sleep both had in many months and promised better nights to come. Niou loved the feeling of having Sakuno next to him when he woke. He kissed her neck, waking her as well.

By 8, she made him lunch and he drove her home. As the days passed by, she spent more and more days at a time with him at his apartment.

He was there for her graduation and gave her a diamond pendant. It was the day she told him she loved him.

And Niou thought he couldn't be any happier.

* * *

><p><strong>The End<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Well, fourteen chapters and finally it's done. This has to be my first completed story and I'm glad it was this one.

For all my reviewers, new and old, it has been great seeing your reviews in my inbox and always kept me on my toes. What is a story without an audience? Thank you for all your continued support!

Watch out for an epilogue soon to come that will tie up some loose ends ;)


	15. Epilogue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. OCs are my creation though.

* * *

><p>"You're the most useless man in the world! I'm in the hospital <em>again<em> because of you!"

Sakuno nearly threw a flower vase from the side table at him had the nurses not held her back. Niou's clenched fist was hidden under his coat that draped over his arm. He didn't need to be reminded of the previous visits…

"I think it's best for you to leave, Masaharu." Sumire said, trying to keep a neutral expression. He nodded and turned to leave.

"You _bastard!"_

He didn't look back, didn't show her how hurtful her misdirected words were. The best place to be was at the waiting room since it was very near the room. If there were any complications, then Sumire didn't have to go far to find him.

The thing is, when a person wants something the most, chances are they're not going to get it immediately. In this case, Niou wanted solitude but with the…_comrades_ he had, that wasn't going to happen.

"How're you feeling, Masharu-chan?"

Fuji asked with a bemused smile. He was playing peek-a-boo with Tezuka's son, Gaku, who was sitting on his lap. Tezuka sat across them, answering messages on his tablet. Niou sighed and took a seat next to Tezuka.

He didn't want to be near Fuji right now.

"I see you haven't been shaving. Life got you stressed?"

"Fuji. Shut. Up. Just for once, _shut up_." Niou said, placing his elbows on his knees, face against his hands. He felt so defeated.

Fuji merely chuckled. "The first time is always hard."

"What would you know about child birth?" Niou murmured.

"It's commonsense, dearest friend. A woman is experiencing intensive pain for the first time; she needs a scapegoat and that will always be the husband. We men just need to endure it. They're bringing our children into the world, after all. Right, Tezuka?"

Fuji turned Gaku around and waved his tiny hands, causing him to giggle. Tezuka grinned at his son, not intending to take the bait Fuji set.

Niou stared at Gaku, who stared back. He was adorable enough, having soft brown hair and wide brown eyes. Tezuka had him dressed in a blue sleeper today. Fair enough, it could be a long night. Gaku blinked at Niou and extended his arms towards him.

"Looks like someone wants to play." Fuji said, smirking.

"I don't want to." Niou said, ignoring Tezuka's gaze from the corner of his eye. Niou was _not_ going to give into pressure. Not now.

"You'll need practice – it would be a bummer if you dropped your newborn." The sandy haired man said. Niou couldn't believe Fuji was effective in instilling a new fear within him.

He wouldn't drop his baby, would he?

Fuji stood and came over to him, placing Gaku gently on Niou's lap. The silver haired lawyer sighed and pinched Gaku's cheeks. The boy clapped and reached for a strand of silver hair. Niou pulled away with a frown, inducing tears in the baby's eyes.

Tezuka's glare was going to burn a hole in his soul.

He gave Gaku to his father – crying babies were new to him and he didn't know how to deal with. He watched as Tezuka fell so naturally into the role by picking the boy up, placing him against the shoulder and patting his back in a soothing way. He stood and went for a slow and steady walk up and down the waiting room.

Niou couldn't believe his eyes. How could Tezuka be so natural…? It gave him a new insecurity - would _he_ be a good father?

"Once you see your child, everything comes into place. As long as you love him or her, then that's all that matters." Tezuka said as he passed, sensing Niou's apprehension. The silver haired man sighed.

Even though he had nine months to think about this, his mind was elsewhere.

The past two years were blissful and the past year was the best - Sakuno had finally agreed to his proposal. Their life together was an adjustment for sure, especially since he didn't want to go to work in the mornings anymore. She didn't need to work because of his paycheck so she chose to spend her time volunteering with non-profit organizations.

Niou thought her career choice had something to do with Yamamoto but it was never a topic he brought up. He was alright with her staying at home since it motivated him to finish work earlier. He loved coming home to her, loved being welcomed home by her and loved eating the dinner she made.

When she announced her pregnancy, it was exciting.

But the months leading to the delivery day created a bitter Sakuno. It was a difficult run and Niou knew it was the hormones. It definitely tested him in many, many ways as she became more demanding, more hostile and more closed off.

Now, at this moment, she reached her peak of brutality and cussed at him. She had never done that. But as Fuji said, he had to endure it. Taking a deep breath, Niou returned to the nurse's station, asked for scrubs and returned to the delivery room to change.

Sakuno needed him beside her, whether she admitted it or not. He would take her anger, her frustration, and her curses if it eased the process.

He loved her no matter the situation.

So he returned and once ready, he stood next to her and held her hand, keeping silent as she swore and Sumire laughed at him. His reward came five hours later in the form of a baby girl.

He sighed happily as the midwife handed her to Sakuno to hold. They looked perfect together. When it was his turn, he understood Tezuka's words – he never loved anyone as much as Sakuno before.

"Hi…" He said, grinning and placing a finger against her cheek. She squirmed at the touch.

"Congratulations, Niou, Sakuno." Tezuka said as he entered, Gaku in hand. Niou looked up and noticed Fuji wasn't with him. Not that it was surprising or anything since Sakuno and he still had tension between them.

"Thank you, Kunimitsu-kun." Sakuno said with a smile and Niou simply nodded his thanks. "How are you doing today, Gaku-chan?"

Gaku giggled at Sakuno's mention of him and Tezuka went to Niou's side to get a better look at the baby. He grinned and it seemed Gaku took an instant liking to the young one. He leaned in to get a better look and Niou raised a brow.

He moved his daughter away.

"…What are you doing?" Tezuka questioned.

"She's too young for boys."

"…" Tezuka didn't…know what to say.

"Masaharu, stop being so silly! Here-" Sakuno reached for Gaku and put him on the bed next to her. She reached for her daughter and glared at Niou when he was hesitant to give her over. He gave in and watched as Sakuno introduced the children to one another.

The temperature in the room dropped when Gaku gave the baby girl a kiss on the cheek. Tezuka picked up his son and stood on the other side of the bed.

Sakuno chuckled, oblivious to Niou's reaction. "How adorable. I think they'll be the best of friends, neh, Kunimitsu-kun?"

"…Perhaps."

After some time, Tezuka and Sumire took with their leave with a sleeping Gaku. Niou sighed and thumped onto the chair next to the bed.

"That was an ordeal." He said.

"Hm…Masaharu," Sakuno reached for his hand. "Thank you for everything…and I'm very sorry about my behaviour."

She smiled sadly and Niou grinned. "It's fine. Pregnancy, labour and childbirth aren't something I'll ever understand. Thank you for the little one."

He joined her on the bed, kissed her on the forehead and they looked at their child sleeping at the end of the bed. Parenthood, they heard, was a struggle. But they were in it together and if Tezuka could handle it with his ridiculous schedule, then so could Niou.

"What should we name her, Sakuno?"

* * *

><p>"<em>Come by around 6, we'll have dinner at 7." Niou had said, surprising Fuji with the dinner invitation. He stopped working and looked up at the silver hair man who visited his office.<em>

"_Hm, is it a good idea for me to attend, Masaharu-kun?" Fuji asked, tapping his pen. It was a nervous habit he had formed in the past year. _

"_Sakuno asked me to invite you." Niou said as he left the office, taking a last glance at Fuji, who had his eyes wide open in shock. _

Fuji snapped out of his reverie when he reached the Ryuzaki's front gate. Despite his disbelief of Sakuno's invite, he still came but he couldn't bring himself to open that gate and walk up to the door that was slightly ajar.

He kept thinking it was a cruel prank, that when he saw Sakuno, she would have many terrible things to say to him. He smiled at his mistrust of someone who was still very, very important to him. Perhaps that was why he couldn't believe she was willing to have him around her.

The sounds of a busy household drifted from the house and he smiled. Tezuka and Gaku were already here. That was somewhat of a relief. Their friendship had strengthened since Tezuka's son came into the picture.

With a deep breath, he placed his hand on the latch and unlocked it. He slowly walked towards the door and stopped midway through. He wanted to walk away, call and cancel.

That home had a sense of belonging and after everything he'd done, he didn't deserve it. Someone like him wasn't meant to have comrades or genuine friends.

Fuji's lips twitched upwards in another smile at his cowardice. Imagine that, a professional lawyer couldn't handle something like this.

But he never had the chance to turn because at that moment, Sakuno stepped out the door, her eyes slightly widened at seeing him. Then those brown eyes softened and she faintly grinned.

"I'm glad you came, Fuji-senpai." She said just loud enough for the words to reach him.

"I'm…surprised you'd have me."

Sakuno slightly tilted her head in contemplation. "You know, someone once told me that a kingdom of seclusion was a difficult place to leave. I think that's nonsense, don't you, Fuji-senpai?"

Fuji frowned, feeling his guard rise. "For those who have the capability of empathy, it would be."

Sakuno's grin slowly faded. "Seclusion isn't part of human nature. People like to think of themselves as tragic heroes and place themselves into isolation. The man I married was like that. The man who was once his partner is like that too."

"I don't think you understand-"

"I don't think _you_ understand, Fuji-senpai." Sakuno frowned. "You gave me advice about letting down barriers but why can't you do the same?"

"…I've hurt many people, Sakuno."

"And those people have forgiven you, Syuusuke."

Fuji's eyes snapped open at her intimacy. Sakuno sighed.

"Why are you the way you are? Is it because you put up barriers so you can't become close to others? Is that why you have difficulties believing when others are willing to accept you?"

She waited for him to speak but he had nothing to say.

"Fuji-senpai, you say you don't have empathy but your mind always lingers on the bad you've done to others. Have you considered the good? You have supported Kunimitsu-kun and Masaharu these past two years and while they may not say it, they are thankful for you…so am I."

Sakuno smiled so sweetly that it nearly broke Fuji's heart. What she said was spot on and having someone analyze him without being near him in two years made him feel…vulnerable. But because it was Sakuno, he felt okay to be so for the first time ever.

It suddenly felt as if many weights had been lifted from his shoulders.

"There are many who want you in their lives and…I'm one of them."

Sakuno continued and walked up to him. She looked up at him with that sweet smile and Fuji returned it with a soft smile of his own, content to hear those words coming from her. At that point, Gaku came running of the house.

"Syu-chan!" He called so amiably and grabbed onto Fuji's leg. Sakuno chuckled as he picked the boy up.

"It seems Gaku loves having you near him as well."

Fuji rubbed the little tyke's head, inducing giggles. He looked at Sakuno. "I'm…so sorry for everything, Sakuno."

"…Stop doing that, senpai."

He shook his head. "No, I like you calling my name better."

Sakuno blinked then smiled again. "Okay."

"Thank you for everything, Sakuno." He held her chin and kissed her cheek. "I love you."

Sakuno tilted her head and smiled widely, understanding the platonic implications but blushing lightly nonetheless.

"I love you too, Syuusuke-kun."

Sakuno turned and led a genuinely happy Fuji back towards the house.

Inside, Niou, who was standing next to the door with crossed arms and hidden from view, was listening to the entire conversation and scowled when he heard that last part.

"Maa, what a cute couple." Sumire teased when she caught a glimpse of Fuji, Sakuno and Gaku from the window. She smirked when seeing Niou's increased tension. That boy, she thought, was incredibly fun to tease.

"I'll make you some tea, Syuusuke-kun." Sakuno said and headed straight for the kitchen.

Niou didn't hide his scowl from a smiling Fuji as he entered. "Why hello Masaharu-chan. Lovely day, no? By the way, if you ever get a divorce from Sakuno-chan, let me know in advance, okay?"

Before he could say a phrase of terrible words, Tezuka called out a warning from the living room.

"Don't give him the satisfaction."

"Hoi, hoi, hello Tezuka. Neh, Gaku, why don't we visit Kanoko-chan? She should be awake by now." Fuji said, walking towards the living room where the baby was put to sleep.

"Kanoko is too young for boys!" Niou said, starting after Fuji.

"Gaku is two years old, Niou. Calm down." Tezuka said, a threat hidden under a calm expression.

"Syu-chan, Gaku wants to marry Ka-chan!" Gaku exclaimed.

Niou shot Tezuka an incredulous look. "What the hell are you teaching him at home?!"

Fuji smirked as he watched Niou and Tezuka be the protective fathers that they were. Don't give who satisfaction, Tezuka? Fuji chuckled.

"Hm, Gaku-chan wants to marry Kanoko-chan? That's adorable." Sakuno said as she brought Fuji a cup of tea.

"Wouldn't they make an adorable couple, Sakuno-chan?" Fuji asked.

"They certainly would, Syuusuke-kun."

Sakuno and Fuji smiled at one another as Niou's eyebrow twitched. Bringing Fuji back into Sakuno's life might have been a mistake on his part.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Alright! Done, complete, finished!

Hopefully this was up to standards for everyone. I think Niou's fairly OoC but ah well, it's done now. I feel as though the Fuji+Saku dynamic here wasn't emphasized as much as it should've been but hopefully the epilouge makes up for it.

I can't believe how popular this story began (close to 100 reviews!) so again, thank you to all the readers and reviewers! It always makes my day to hear from all of you :)

If you're into the Naruto fandom, my next main project is there (**Tales of the Oppressed**). If not, then I'll be continuing **In a Heartbeat** and am welcome to hearing requests for one-shots and the like which will be updated under **Challenges**. So send me a PM if you have an idea/pairing you'd like to to see but no guarantees that will be up immediately :)

Thanks for a great run!

Lily


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